CONFUSION surrounds the re-opening of the Dolphin swimming pool after parents were told children’s swimming lessons would not return to the centre until the new year.

An electrical fire shut Poole’s main leisure centre in July and already operator SLM has pushed the scheduled re-opening date back from a “worst case scenario” September 1 to early October.

But to muddy the water further, the Dolphin’s swimming lessons have been booked in at Rossmore Leisure Centre until January, while Poole Swimming Club has hired the pool at Broadstone until November.

The mixed messages have only served to fuel speculation the centre, which has around half a million visits a year, may be shut for a more substantial stint than already expected.

SLM, which runs the centre on behalf of Poole council, said the children’s lessons had to be block-booked at Rossmore to minimise disruption.

Claire James, spokeswoman for SLM, said: “We have to book a whole term of swimming lessons to prevent other people using the pool.

“We want to disrupt things as little as possible.”

She added SLM still hoped to have the Dolphin back in business by October but conceded no guarantees could be made over the length of time the repairs would take.

A letter sent out to parents of children with swimming classes booked said SLM was “striving” to re-open by October, It also said “several hundred” extra swimming lesson places had been created at Rossmore to fill the void left by the Dolphin closure.

Demand for the coveted spaces has been understandably high, with large queues of parents forming at Rossmore on Wednesday to try and book a spot for their child.

SLM insists capacity and quality of the substitute lessons at Rossmore would be at least equal to those at the Dolphin.

Parents have been given vouchers for missed lessons at the Dolphin that can be redeemed at Rossmore.

Regular Dolphin gym and swimming pool users are already threatening to take their business to private health clubs as the closure rolls on.

More Poole news