The village of Sillans-la-Cascade, in Haut-Var, has announced plans to reopen its swimming pool. We now have to convince the surrounding municipalities to also finance the project.
It is so nice to be able to swim under the Haut-Var sun, if you have access to water. In this area far from the coast, some towns do not have municipal swimming pools.
In Sillans-la-Cascade, the town hall wants to renovate the old swimming pool which has been closed since 2014. The mayor also wants to attract residents from neighboring villages to offset the costs.
There is a lot of work. Today the basin is dry, the beams are in poor condition and new extensions are planned.
We would like to make an extension with a small pool where we could accommodate baby swimmers, aquagym or aquabike. Outside, we could add what is called a dry swimming pool with water jets where the children could have fun, explains Christophe Carrière, the mayor of Sillans-la-Cascade.
In chronic deficit, the swimming pool had to close its doors almost 10 years ago. For the current municipal team, there is no question of making the same mistakes again. The place would now be open seven days a week and would teach swimming to children from all over the area.
For Jean-Pierre Renard, deputy mayor, in charge of finance and projects: This is a territorial project that will bring together an entire population. We are a bit lost in the Haut-Var, the swimming pools of Draguignan or Brignoles are saturated in terms of slots, it is time for us to have a real swimming pool in this territory.
The elected officials expect 50,000 admissions per year. 10 years ago, the swimming pool received an average of 45,000 visitors per year and was heated by oil, which was expensive.
The entrance to the Sillans-la-Cascade swimming pool.
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© Maxime Meuneveaux / France Televisions
