A public swimming pool in Melbourne’s historic Olympic Village could close within months, as the council weighs whether to decommission the centre – which is in a disadvantaged area – while spending more than $38 million upgrading a pool in a wealthier neighbouring suburb. Heidelberg West locals say they have been blindsided by the potential loss of their pool, just three years after they joined with Banyule City Council in a redevelopment proposal for the run-down Olympic Leisure Centre that was hailed as “a once-in-a-lifetime project”. On Monday night, Banyule councillors will vote on a recommendation to close the pool, spa and sauna at the centre in the Olympic Village and convert the space into a library. The centre, which has serviced the public since the village built for athletes at the 1956 Olympics was turned into public housing estates in the 1970s, is outdated and open to the public for limited hours. The 12-metre children’s pool was permanently closed for safety reasons in 2021, after several swimmers cut themselves on sharp edges in the pool shell. The 25-metre pool was also temporarily closed that year to repair leaks and structural damage and remove mould.