'Disgust' as paddling pool stays closed until July

An outdoor paddling pool is to remain closed for extra repairs until at least July, a year after a similar closure.

Sutton-On-Sea's Maple Leaf pool was closed until July 2025 for temporary fixes to the pool's water tank, which allowed it to open in the summer holidays.

One visitor said it was "disgusting" it won't be open at its usual time at the end of May for the second year in a row.

East Lindsey District Council said the "important works should ensure the future of a cherished community facility".

Maria Challis, who was visiting the resort with her grandchildren, said: "I can't believe it, it's disgusting. They fixed it last year, so I don't see what the problem is.

"I always come with my grandchildren for the paddling pool because it's beautiful.

"It's awful, I just don't understand how it was faulty last year, they fixed it late so then it was late opening last year, and now it's not going to open again."

"It's just been such a disappointment with all the money that's been spent around here," Janet Turner, who was enjoying a beachside stroll, said.

A total of £524,000 was spent to renovate the pool, as part of a wider £7.5m development of Sutton-On-Sea's beachfront area in 2025.

However, Heather Raymond, who was visiting the town's new playground with her child, said it was better to repair it ahead of the summer season.

"It needs fixing, so it's got to be done, and if it's open for the summer then that's when most of the kids are down, so it's a win-win," she said.

Simon Jones, who lives in the town, said the community was "very disappointed and very frustrated because it's a much-loved facility".

"When they finally got the colonnade building up and running the pool was out of action, and they managed to get it going just in time for the season and it was a great success.

"But then just after the season they pulled it all apart again, and here we are nearly a year later and the facility is not there."

East Lindsey District Council said they knew the news would be "disappointing for many families, visitors and local businesses", but said the "important works should ensure the future of a cherished community facility that will last for generations".

A spokesperson explained the work was to "install a new structural pool tank" and that it would have been "significantly more difficult to cast and cure concrete effectively" during winter months.

The council said it predicted the pool would reopen "around mid-July, ahead of the summer holidays".

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