02/06/2026
**Splash Park update!**
A message from Helen Campbell, lead councillor for sport and leisure, parks and parking:
“We all love our Splash Park at Verulamium Park and we would have loved for it to have been open during the recent very hot spell - for little kids - and big kids alike!
“Sadly, we can’t always predict the weather and there’s a lot of preparation work, maintenance and staff recruitment that has to happen before it opens to make sure it’s safe, clean and supervised.
“For 2026, the Splash Park is scheduled to operate from 8 July to 2 September (56 days). The Splash Park is managed on behalf of the council by Everyone Active and forms part of its contract.
Can it be opened early?
Sadly, it isn’t as simple as just opening it early. I’ll try to explain why, with a bit of background and context.
Preparation of the Splash Park
A structured mobilisation period is required to prepare and commission plant equipment, identify and resolve maintenance issues, undertake system chlorination, and complete microbiological testing in line with Legionella control requirements. The system must be fully operational for a minimum of 14 days prior to opening. The date for 2026 opening was set for 8 July.
Staffing and Training
Everyone Active is currently recruiting seasonal staff for 2026, with that opening date in mind. All staff must complete mandatory training and obtain relevant certifications, including Health & Safety and First Aid, prior to opening. Everyone Active are also responsible for safeguarding training and checks for the staff employed by them and resultant public liability insurance. Finally given the water-based environment, strict operational procedures must be followed to ensure user safety at all times. Everyone Active could not be held accountable for other providers and this could leave our users, the council and Everyone Active exposed, which naturally no one would want.
The money
Owing to severe budget shortfalls for the district council, as with all councils, every possible saving had to be looked at for the 2024/2025 period in order for the council to meet its legal obligation to balance the budget amid sharply rising costs post-Covid, the cost-of-living crisis and substantial increases in utility and energy prices.
One of the savings identified was a change to the operations of the Splash Park. Options considered were charging for use of the splash park, closing it altogether or reducing the operational weeks. Closing and charging were rejected, the latter in order not to create a financial barrier. A reduction from May–September to an eight-week period aligned with the school summer holidays has enabled a balance of accessibility during peak demand with the need to achieve financial savings.
Crowdfunding?
We know that members of the community would like to raise funds in order to open the Splash Park before the scheduled date. Unfortunately, these would present the council with a number of risks, including operational, financial and reputational and so we can’t do that unfortunately.
Next year?
There always has to be a date scheduled, for the operational and health and safety reasons above. Whatever the date set in any given year, it would not be possible to ‘open early’ for the reasons above. But we have started internal discussions about the possibility of setting an earlier date for 2027 opening.
