Picky Centre gearing up for major equipment replacement.

Major works are underway at The Pickaquoy Centre and are due to continue throughout July and August, with repairs and replacement of the equipment and plant damaged by a flood earlier this year.

Flood damage in January led to failures in plant equipment, including heating and ventilation systems, pool circulation and electrical supplies.

This meant that all the facilities in the ‘new side’ of the building were closed, including the swimming pool, squash courts, wet side changing facilities and Studio Two.

The gym, cinema, cafe, soft play and sports hall have remained open as usual – with the squash courts reopening in April, after a temporary ‘power’ fix was put in place.

The next three months will see the pool and heating plant, electrical switch gear and emergency lighting systems removed and replaced.

Significant amounts of work have gone on over the last few months to prepare for the project including a full redesign of plant and heating components.

The swimming pool has also been drained to prevent water from becoming stagnant and some minor planned maintenance works to the pool areas have been brought forward and are being undertaken during the continued closure.

It is hoped that Studio 2 will be able to come back online shortly with the Picky Group X Team reviewing class options.

Early July will see the work focus on repairs and replacement.  It is hoped to reopen all parts of the centre August/September – but timelines are very much dependent on a number of factors, particularly delivery times on plant items needing replaced.

James Linklater is Managing Director of The Pickaquoy Centre. He said: “Alternative leisure facilities are available on the Orkney mainland at the Stromness Swimming Pool and Healthy Living Centres in Dounby and St Margaret’s Hope as well as the KGS Sports Centre – with these facilities are covered by the ActiveLife Scheme.

“The team at Stromness Pool and in the wider Sport and Leisure Service at the Council have done a tremendous job in increasing provision where possible and we’re grateful for that.

“We are also extremely grateful to our ActiveLife members and all our customers for their ongoing support, patience and empathy during this difficult time. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to our swimming facilities as soon as we can.”

Over the course of the closure of the facilities at Picky, staff at Stromness Swimming Pool and fitness centre have worked hard to increase service provision including:

• 18-20 additional opening hours per week
• Four additional school swimming sessions a week
• 21 hourly lane sessions for OASC on top of standard sessions at Stromness, along with additional galas and the intercounty swimming competition
• A weekly Octopush session
• A weekly aquanatal class
• A weekly Inclusive Orkney session
• 6.5hrs of time for The Pickaquoy Centre’s Learn to Swim programme.  

Garry Burton is Orkney Islands Council’s Head of Active Communities.  He said: “As you would expect the closure of facilities at The Pickaquoy Centre has led to a significant increase in usage at the Stromness pool and other facilities like the KGS Sports Centre and Healthy Living Centre.

“Over March-June we saw the usage of the Stromness facility double with an increased average usage in the Centre of 53% over the 3 months. 

“That’s no mean feat for our small team, but they’ve truly risen to the occasion - and found ways to increase the provision across a number of activities that are much valued by our community and clubs.”