Melbourne's Beloved Harold Holt Swim Centre Is Set to Receive a $3 Million Makeover
It will include the restoration and reopening of its famed diving tower — which has been closed for 16 years.
Victorians keen for a taste of the high life will soon have a new spot to show off their diving skills, thanks to a $3 million restoration project at the Harold Holt Swim Centre in Glen Iris. Part of the proposed works will see the centre's diving tower and pool given a revamp and reopened for the first time since 2003.
In addition to the diving facilities, which include a restored tower with a three-metre springboard and a separate one-metre springboard, a suite of other improvements are also under way. There are plans to retile pools, improve accessibility to the outdoor 50-metre pool, swap the existing lights for energy efficient LED fittings, refurbish the outdoor change rooms and upgrade the pool's spectator seating. The site would also score a new landscaped lawn area for hanging out on in-between dips.
Plans for the proposed redevelopment can be viewed online. The community feedback period has now closed, but the City of Stonnington Council will continue to liaise with Diving Victoria, Heritage Victoria and Live Saving Victoria on the upgrade. It will then use all this information to put together a report later this year. If all it approved by council, work on the upgrades would start in 2020.
The centre's diving facilities were first constructed back in 1969 and are now heritage-listed. The site currently sees over 500,000 visitors through its gates each year, with the revamp expected to pull even more.
The Harold Holt Swim Centre will remain open as usual for the time being at 1409–1413 High Street, Glen Iris.
Updated: June 3, 2019.
- The Best Waterfalls You Can Swim Under Near Melbourne
- The 21 Best BYO Restaurants in Melbourne
- Ten of the Most Luxurious Stays You Can Book on the Mornington Peninsula
- The 50 Best Restaurants in the Melbourne CBD
- The 16 Best Day Spas in Melbourne
- Ten Next-Level Australian Stays with Outdoor Baths for the Ultimate Relax and Rewind Getaway