Triton pool in Evere to close for repairs in new year

Another Brussels swimming pool is closing for renovation works - with Triton in Evere out of action for at least three months from January 2020.

The closure will deprive local schoolchildren of swimming lessons and place additional pressure on capacity elsewhere, with nearby pools in Schaerbeek and Saint-Josse also currently closed.

Triton will close at Christmas and hopes to reopen for early spring 2020. "The schools in the municipality have been warned," said Evere councillor for sports, Ridouane Chahid.

"Some schools have already arranged to put on alternative exercise classes instead of swimming."

The municipal pool in Evere underwent a €2 million upgrade in 2012-13, funded by the Brussels region and the municipality, but in recent months, several leaks have been found in the pool's coating.

The company that carried out the works will make repairs at its expense - as the original job is still covered under warranty.

Meanwhile, Schaerbeek's municipal swimming pool, Neptunium, has been under renovation since 2017. The finish date was first scheduled for 2019, then spring 2020.

Now the pool is not expected to reopen until September 2021, with the project currently running €1.3 million over budget.

Saint-Josse pool has been closed since 2010 and is finally due to reopen next month. Ixelles' 115-year-old swimming pool closed for three years of renovation works at the end of August.