THE City of Swan recently celebrated the official opening of new changerooms at Swan Active Midland, providing a new range of accessible and family-friendly features.

In a statement the city said the project involved constructing an extension to the existing aquatic centre and included an open changing area off the main pool deck with showers, five wet family change cubicles, five dry family change cubicles, an adult change facility, a universal access toilet and a dedicated storeroom.

Project funding of $1.7 million was received from the federal government’s local roads and community infrastructure program to complete the $2.1m project.

Taryn Benn of Swan View has been going to Swan Active Midland for about 12 months after a car accident led her to have a double hip replacement and spine surgery.

She is full of praise for the centre staff and the other pool users she has met there.

“When I was at a point where I just wasn’t sure how I was going to cope with things, meeting all those different people in the pool that also are rehabilitating and their encouragement, the staff’s encouragement, the way you’re treated in there was enough to get me through and it helped me walk again,’’ she said.

“The staff are absolutely beautiful.

“They’re just really kind and they always say hi to me and at one stage there I was going in using a crutch because I’d had the double hip replacement and when they saw me not using the crutch, they were like, no crutch now, keep going Taryn and they’re really encouraging.

“And all of the other people in the pool doing rehabilitation we formed a little community.

“It’s been really beautiful and it’s so helped me throughout this period because you can just feel alone when you’ve had a car accident and all the things that happen.’’

The other pool users would even leave her messages asking if she needed anything.

“Then if you go into the gym, because I went to the gym a couple of times, they have their own little community in there.

“So not only do you have the gym, you have the rehabilitation in the pool, you have the other swimming pools, you have the young mums and babies doing swimming lessons and then you’ve got the basketball and the other sports going on there.

“I’ve watched some of the ladies after they do their swimming they go into the café and they were playing Scrabble the other day and I thought that is the cutest thing I think I’ve ever seen.

“It’s such a safe place and they’re accommodating.

“Any manager I’ve spoken to there has been really kind to me.

“They’ve never been rude never – none of the young staff, not the cafe staff, no one.

“They’re all just gorgeous and once when the water had got cold the young staff were being asked all the time and I started thinking it’s really out of their control and I think the (council) needs to step up and help.’’

Midland pool too cold for elderly reported some elderly swimmers had stopped going to the Midland pool and were instead going to Swan Active Beechboro pool.

In response to questions from Echo News the City of Swan said it was working with contractors to restore consistent heating and ensure the set temperature was maintained.

City of Swan Mayor Tanya Richardson said the target temperature for the Swan Active Midland leisure pool was 31.5°C.

“Over the past few months, colder weather and other factors have seen it fluctuate between 29.5°C and 30.9°C,” she said.

“Our operations team is actively working with multiple contractors to restore consistent heating and ensure the set temperature is maintained.”