Can Mechelen’s extended Keerdok season and a new Nekkerpool end its swimming shortage?

Mechelen

Place

Mechelen

City addressing its shortage of public swimming capacity and taking over Nekkerpool management.

Why it matters

City addressing its shortage of public swimming capacity and taking over Nekkerpool management.

About

Mechelen is a city and municipality in the province of Antwerp in the Flemish Region of Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Mechelen proper, some quarters at its outskirts, the hamlets of Nekkerspoel (adjacent) and Battel, as well as the villages of Walem, Heffen, Leest, Hombeek, and Muizen. The city is often referred to as the Dijlestad as the river Dyle (Dijle) flows through it.

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Organisation

Province of Antwerp

Provincial authority transferring Nekkerpool and deciding permits for the neighbourhood pools.

Why it matters

Provincial authority transferring Nekkerpool and deciding permits for the neighbourhood pools.

About

The Antwerp Province, between 1815 and 1830 known as Central Brabant, is the northernmost province both of the Flemish Region, also called Flanders, and of Belgium. It borders on the Zeeland and North Brabant provinces of the Netherlands to the north and the Belgian provinces of Limburg, Flemish Brabant and East Flanders. Its capital is Antwerp, which includes the Port of Antwerp, the second-largest seaport in Europe.

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For residents, schools and swimming clubs, the immediate issue is access rather than architectural ambition. Since Geerdegemvaart closed, swimmers have depended largely on the existing Nekkerpool and the seasonal Keerdok zone. Het Nieuwsblad reports that the new Swimwise units will be located in Hombeek, Otterbeek, at Winketkaai and beside the former Geerdegemvaart facility. Three will accommodate up to 49 swimmers; the double unit at Geerdegemvaart will have capacity for 98, according to the city’s swimming-water plan.

The units are heated, wheelchair-accessible 25-metre pools intended primarily for lessons, schools, clubs and lane swimming. The city says schools and clubs will retain their allocated hours through a combination of these pools, Nekkerpool and an agreement allowing clubs to use the Sint-Romboutscollege pool outside school hours. Existing Geerdegemvaart passes are already accepted at Nekkerpool, an important practical bridge for regular users.

The Keerdok extension gives recreational swimmers another few weeks outdoors: its planned closing date was 6 September. Any further extension will still depend on weather, water temperature and water quality. That qualification matters. Flemish swimming-water monitoring recorded cyanobacteria at Keerdok on 24 July and imposed a swimming ban, after earlier July samples had been rated very good. The city subsequently advertised the zone as open through 6 September, but swimmers must continue checking the flag and current status before entering the water. Some hours operate without a lifeguard, with users responsible for following the safety rules.

Mechelen’s longer-term answer is taking shape at De Nekker. The city is preparing to assume control of the provincially managed Nekkerpool on 1 January 2027 and says its market consultation has attracted substantial interest. Labsir told Het Nieuwsblad that the responses will help determine the project model and required budget. Somers said the intention is not simply to add a few lanes but to create another complete pool, potentially with private partners. The city is aiming for an opening before the end of the municipal term in 2030, although no design, financing agreement or construction contract has yet been approved.

This mixed approach reflects a problem extending beyond Mechelen: conventional pools are expensive to construct, heat and staff, while schools and clubs require dependable year-round water. Mechelen’s administration frames modular pools, open water and a possible public-private project as complementary tools. Somers says swimming already absorbs a quarter of the city’s sports budget. The four neighbourhood installations are therefore more than emergency containers in the city’s account: they are distributed local infrastructure contracted for six or, at some locations, fifteen years.

The N-VA opposition shares the diagnosis but places greater emphasis on a permanent municipal pool. In earlier reporting after Geerdegemvaart’s closure, the party argued that the administration should move quickly on a full replacement and create more open-water locations. That position highlights the central political test: temporary capacity may prevent cancelled lessons, but it does not settle who will finance and operate Mechelen’s next permanent pool.

The background is a succession of abandoned or unaffordable replacement options. A proposed Plopsaqua complex once intended to replace Geerdegemvaart did not proceed, while the old pool’s foundations, installations and environmental performance had deteriorated. City documents say further repairs would have cost millions without providing a durable solution; renovation would also have required a closure lasting several years.

Attention now turns to the provincial permits for the neighbourhood pools, including objections lodged at Winketkaai, and to the terms of the Nekker market consultation. Mechelen must still publish firm opening dates, operating timetables and the financial structure for the proposed permanent pool. Until then, the city has a credible bridge across its swimming shortage, but not yet a completed route to the other side.