FOUR pools in Campaspe Shire that faced closure have been granted a stay of execution by council.

It follows community campaigning against a review’s recommendation that all aquatic services in the shire be concentrated within four towns, which would have seen the closure of the pools Colbinabbin, Lockington, Stanhope and Tongala.

At this week’s ordinary meeting, having considered submissions regarding the review, the council confirmed its preferred course of action was for aquatic services to be delivered at Echuca, Kyabram, Rochester and Rushworth.

But the remaining pools will stay open, subject to the outcomes of community place-based plans that must be completed within three years.

Campaspe Shire mayor Leigh Wilson said there had been a considerable number of submissions to the review discussion paper and the council had taken the community’s feedback on board.

“If the community believe they can work with us… and find savings, we at least owe them the opportunity to prove that,” Cr Wilson said.

Michelle Rathjen, from Colbinabbin Pool Action Group, said the community was “thrilled” with the decision.

“We’re really relieved that for the next three years, we’ll retain our pools and they’ll continue to provide funding for them,” Mrs Rathjen said.

The development of a scope to support the creation of the plans is to be completed by September next year.

But Mrs Rathjen said the Colbinabbin community would begin talking at a local level about what could be done to make the pool more viable.

She said a key concern would be altering opening hours, so they better reflected the needs of the community to then improve attendance figures.

Cr Wilson said the plans would give the community the opportunity to identify where savings could be made through the services they did and did not prioritise as important.

He said communities would not have to find savings to offset the costs of their own pools, but rather savings would be looked at across the shire.

If a community fails to produce a plan, its pool will be closed.