A Dunedin City Council spokesman said the development involved the temporary closure and upgrade of the family changing rooms, as well as improvements to the ceiling and ventilation system above the learners’ pool.
"The work we’re doing means the learners’ pool is now closed, and lessons held there have been moved to the leisure pool.
"This does have an impact on leisure swimming, but we’re trying to keep some space available at all times."
The upgrade of the family changing facilities would include new tiles, lighting, paint and plumbing, which would deliver "a noticeable" improvement to the facilities, he said.
"While the family changing rooms are closed, swimmers can use our new accessible changing rooms, or the temporary family changing areas we’ve added beside the old diving pool at the southern end of the building."
The main men’s and women’s changing rooms would not be affected by the work and would remain open, he said.
However, the refurbishment of the hydroslides meant they would need to be closed at some stage of the project.
"We don’t yet have dates confirmed, or exact costings."
The slides were built in 1984 and the council initially considered replacing them.
But escalating costs made it prudent to refurbish them instead, he said.
"The savings are expected to be in the millions of dollars, but we’ll have more detail closer to the time."
The council has allocated just over $24million of capital spending for the pool complex in its 2021-31 long-term plan, but the upgrade is forecast to exceed that.
The refurbishment aims to ensure the 60-year-old pool remains the premier destination for swimming sports and aquatic recreation in the region.
The project is expected to be completed next year.
