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To: Councillor Francine Higham, City of Cape Town

City Of Cape Town, Reopen our Community Pools!

[Update: 25 March 2026] 
We sent a letter to the city on 1 March requesting the City to allocate sufficient resources to ensure that the community pools will:
  • be open every day from November to mid-April;
  • offer community services like aqua aerobics classes for seniors at least once a week;
  • have extended opening hours at least twice a week (e.g. one morning and one evening) to allow working residents to use the pools before or after work.

We also stated that:
  • The council’s framing of the current reopening of the pools on Wednesdays to Fridays as a “pilot” for “extended weekday hours” to assess demand is misleading. 
  • We object against the City unilaterally deciding pool opening hours without consulting affected communities in a proper public participation process.
  • We asked them for the contracts with the service providers doing the upgrades at Manenberg, Langa, Lentegeur, Goodwood, Bellville South and Delft. As we have received information that these pools already had their repairs done. 
  • We also requested that the City shares its community pool budget information for the 2026/27 season with us, both infrastructure and running costs. 
  • We requested that the city assist with facilitating Saturday access for Trafalgar Amateur Aquatic Club (TAAC). TAAC has been offering their volunteer services at the pool on Saturday mornings for more than 40 years.

The city has responded:
  • They continue to insist that the "the current extension of weekday operations forms part of a pilot arrangement during the present season"
  • They cannot guarantee 7 day a week access until the impact of the "pilot" on the budget has been accessed. 
  • They did not provide us with the contracts with the service providers doing the upgrades at closed pools. 
  • They did not provide detailed budget information on the pools.

Our concerns and demands have not been addressed. We have requested a meeting with Councillor Higham. 

[Update: 28 January 2026] 
We have a (partial) win. The City has announced that community pools will, in addition to weekends, be open Wednesday to Friday, 10 am to 6 pm, until 6 April, with the weekday opening hours as a "pilot to assess demand and viability". For now, we want to know from you if we should take our win, go enjoy the pools & ensure the City keeps the pools open the whole week in the next swimming/budgeting season or protest now and get the pools opened Mondays and Tuesdays until April as well.


Since 19 January 2026, the City has closed the community pools during the week – for the hottest months of the year in Cape Town.

This is despite their announcement in November that all pools would be open every day from 1 December 2025 to mid-April 2026.

We ask the City of Cape Town to reverse its decision and immediately reopen all community pools during the week until mid-April.

Why is this important?

The community pools are located in areas of Cape Town including Athlone, Bonteheuwel, Delft, Hanover Park, Khayelitsha, Langa, Manenberg, Woodstock etc where there are very limited recreational resources available to the community. The community pools are one of the most used facilities by the community during the summer months.

The pools which charge just R3 for children and R9 for adults are affordable and safe and keep the children off the street in summer. Children do have time to do go to the pool after school in February and March, not just on the weekends, because they don't have exam pressure yet. Adults in the communities use the pools to exercise, including senior citizens.

Many of the lifeguards working at the community pools come from the communities themselves and desperately need this seasonal work.

Unlike in the green, leafy suburbs, these communities do not have access to private swimming pools. Closing the community pools and only providing budgets for regional pools like Sea Point is therefore a blatantly anti-poor way to spend Cape Town’s budget.

* Stand with our vulnerable communities and our children  – sign & share now. *

Want to do more? Email or whatsapp your ward councillor asking them to reopen your local pool immediately.
Find your ward councillor and their email address here: https://www.capetown.gov.za/Family%20and%20home/meet-the-city/city-council/find-your-councillor-ward-or-subcouncil/show-wards

#ReOpenOurPoolsNow and bring back the summer fun!

Umbrella Civic 57+
Aqua-aerobics for seniors group at Trafalgar
Bonteheuwel Development Forum
Cape Town Commons Collective
Observatory Civic Association
Reclaim the City
Trafalgar Amateur Aquatic Club
Walmer Estate Civic Association (WECA)
Woodstock Residents’ Association (WRA)
Cape Town, South Africa

Maps © Stamen; Data © OSM and contributors, ODbL

Category

Updates

2026-03-25 10:02:22 +0200

The city has responded:
- They continue to insist that the "the current extension of weekday operations forms part of a pilot arrangement during the present season"
- They cannot guarantee 7 day a week access until the impact of the "pilot" on the budget has been accessed.
- They did not provide us with the contracts with the service providers doing the upgrades at closed pools.
- They did not provide detailed budget information on the pools.

Our concerns and demands have not been addressed. We have requested a meeting with Councillor Higham.

2026-03-25 10:02:09 +0200

We sent a letter to the city on 1 March requesting the City to allocate sufficient resources to ensure that the community pools will:
- be open every day from November to mid-April;
- offer community services at least once a week;
- have extended opening hours at least twice a week to allow working residents to use the pools before or after work.

We also stated that:
- The council’s framing of the current reopening of the pools on Wednesdays to Fridays as a “pilot” for “extended weekday hours” to assess demand is misleading.
- We object against the City unilaterally deciding pool opening hours without consulting affected communities in a proper public participation process.
- We asked them for the contracts with the service providers doing the upgrades at all closed pools.
- We also requested that the City shares its community pool budget information.
- We requested that the city assist with facilitating Saturday access for Trafalgar Amateur Aquatic Club.

2026-01-28 09:48:31 +0200

Thank you so much for your support. Thanks to you, we have a (partial) win! Please vote on how we should move forward! https://forms.gle/gUVc9d8pD6bUB9kw5

We will communicate to the City that we don't agree with the viability argument -- community pools in summer are essential services, just like parks and libraries, and need to be open.

We want to know from the City what the budget implications are, we want public participation & accountability, and we would like to have community-based monitoring of pool use & make suggestions for increased use, including longer operating hours so that working people can use the pool, too.

For now, we want to know from you if we should:

A. take our win, go enjoy the pools & ensure the City keeps the pools open the whole week in the next swimming/budgeting season

OR

B. protest now and get the pools opened Mondays and Tuesdays until April as well.

Vote here: https://forms.gle/gUVc9d8pD6bUB9kw5

2026-01-26 09:32:53 +0200

Don't miss this response from the Bonteheuwel Development Forum!
https://www.facebook.com/story.php/?story_fbid=1310535707772475&id=100064481750544

2026-01-26 09:32:22 +0200

We have had a win -- City announces that the pools will be open Wednesdays to Sundays until the end of April. Watch this space!
https://www.capetown.gov.za/Media-and-news/City%20pilots%20extended%20weekday%20hours%20for%20community%20pools

2026-01-23 10:52:45 +0200

In contrast to the Bonteheuwel Cll, Ward Councillor Ian McMahon (Ward 115) supports that Trafalgar Swimming Pool should be reopened in the week!

2026-01-23 10:51:42 +0200

Ward Councillor for Bonteheuwel (Ward 50) Angus McKenzie posted on Facebook that the pools should be closed in the week so that kids don't bunk school (he since deleted the post). *Don't miss this brilliant response from the Bonteheuwel Development Forum*:

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CV6GXvybD/

2026-01-23 09:30:13 +0200

500 signatures reached

2026-01-21 21:12:52 +0200

100 signatures reached

2026-01-21 20:04:17 +0200

50 signatures reached

2026-01-21 18:48:23 +0200

25 signatures reached

2026-01-21 18:19:04 +0200

10 signatures reached