Outdoor swimming pool refurbishment receives €200,000 in funding
Caption: The district administrator presents a grant notification for 200,000 euros for the refurbishment of the outdoor swimming pool. From left: Ingo Sahl from the town of Korbach, District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst, Mayor Stefan Kieweg, EWF Managing Director Frank Benz and Managing Director of the swimming pool operating company Oguzhan Tabaktas. Photo: Waldeck-Frankenberg District
The Waldeck-Frankenberg district is supporting the Hanseatic town of Korbach with 200,000 euros from structural funding for the comprehensive refurbishment of its outdoor swimming pool. The popular leisure and sports facility is to be modernised and made sustainable in time for the 2028 swimming season, and its role as an important social hub for the entire region is to be safeguarded. Energie Waldeck-Frankenberg GmbH – as the operator of the outdoor swimming pool – will receive the necessary funding of 13.8 million euros from the town of Korbach.
“The Korbach outdoor swimming pool is far more than just a swimming pool – it is a central social hub for people from across the region, a venue for school and club sports, and makes an important contribution to promoting health for all generations,” explained District Administrator Jürgen van der Horst at the handover of the grant notification. “That is why we are happy to invest in the upkeep and modernisation of the outdoor pool. This grant is an investment in the quality of life of the people of Waldeck-Frankenberg.”
The refurbishment involves a comprehensive redesign aimed at making the facility more appealing, particularly to families, children and young people. Plans include, amongst other things, a separate diving pool with 1-metre, 3-metre and 5-metre diving platforms, new slides, a non-swimmers’ pool with a water-acclimatisation staircase for swimming lessons, and a modern toddler area. At the same time, the 50-metre lanes – a unique selling point for competitive swimming – will be retained. There is also a particular focus on accessibility and improving energy efficiency to ensure the pool is operated in a sustainable and climate-friendly manner.
“We would like to thank the Waldeck-Frankenberg district for its support with this project. This funding is a key component of our financing plan,” explains Stefan Kieweg, Mayor of Korbach. “The refurbishment of the outdoor swimming pool is important for Korbach and the region. At the same time, a project of this scale also presents a major financial challenge. This makes it all the more important that we can rely on the district’s support. We are very grateful for this.”
The grant from the district is part of an overall funding plan. The town of Korbach has also applied for funding from the federal programme ‘Renovation of municipal facilities in the fields of sport, youth and culture’ to cover the total costs.
As the owner of the Korbach outdoor swimming pool, Energie Waldeck-Frankenberg (EWF) is both the developer and the client for the entire refurbishment. “We know how important swimming pools are for the region and for the local community. That is why we are delighted that the town of Korbach has decided to carry out a comprehensive modernisation of the outdoor pool and that the district is supporting the project,” says EWF Managing Director Frank Benz.