Zemst (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Zemst is considering a mobile swimming pool for school playgrounds to replace lost swimming lessons. Serge Verhaeghe (N-VA) proposed it, inspired by Oelegem. Bart Nobels (Iedereen Zemst) supports investigating costs, safety, and feasibility.
In Zemst, the local council is looking at a new idea to help kids get swimming lessons. They want to set up a mobile pool on school playgrounds. This idea came from a school near Ranst that plans to start after Easter.
Opposition councillor Serge Verhaeghe (N-VA) thinks this could be a good solution. He said that swimming lessons in schools have been forgotten, and a mobile pool could help. It would make lessons easier for students since they wouldn’t have to travel to swim.
I immediately thought that was a good idea and suggested to the municipal council to also investigate in Zest whether such a mobile swimming pool is a solution for the school swimming that is now neglected,
says Serge Verhaeghe (N-VA).
Will Zemst introduce a mobile pool for school swimming?
The local government is looking at the idea of a mobile swimming pool. Bart Nobels (Iedereen Zemst), who handles Education, said they want to see if this plan can help kids get enough swimming lessons.
They will check if a mobile pool is possible by looking at costs, safety, and how to run it. The results will be shared at the next council meeting. If the project works, it could help other towns with the same swimming lesson problems.
The idea of a mobile swimming pool in Zemst is gaining support. Alderman Bart Nobels (Iedereen Zemst) said it would be a big truck with a small pool inside. This truck could park on school playgrounds. It would also have changing rooms and showers.
Students travel to Mechelen for swimming lessons because their local pool closed in 2019. There are plans to build a new pool in Hofstade, but it is still being planned. Officials mentioned that a mobile pool could help kids learn to swim.
Municipal councillor Serge Verhaeghe (N-VA) suggested a mobile swimming pool because of his kids’ experiences. He said his children have not had many swimming lessons due to problems with bus rides to Mechelen. He found a news story about a school in Oelegem that plans to install a mobile pool. This idea made him think it could work in Zemst too.
Verhaeghe believes the mobile pool could also be used for private lessons and swimming clubs. He mentioned that there are still questions about the pool’s size, how to operate it, and rental costs. The board of aldermen will research if this project is possible and affordable for the town.
Not only schools could go swimming there, private lessons are also possible or swimming clubs should be able to go there. Although of course we still have to investigate how big such a swimming pool would be and what the rental price would be. It is up to the board of aldermen to investigate this further.
says Alderman Nobels.
