Not an Olympic pool (From The Oxford Times)

Not an Olympic pool

7:50am Thursday 31st May 2012 in Letters

Sir – Tony Williams’s letter (May 10) made an excellent case for resisting the folly of destroying two popular facilities and replacing them with a hugely expensive pool, for which there does not appear to be any popular support. I would like to point out, however, that the proposed new pool at Blackbird Leys will not be an Olympic-sized pool (ie 50 metres) but 25 metres, like Temple Cowley’s main pool.

The proposal, therefore, sees the replacement of what we have in Blackbird Leys and Temple Cowley with a pool which will be similar to what we have at Temple Cowley, but i) colder than the current pool at Blackbird Leys (because of swimming club and competition use), ii) without a sauna (the only council-run one in Oxford) and iii) without a diving pool (granted it needs to be repaired, but at least it is there to be repaired). Moreover, the proposed new pool is not nearly as accessible as the Temple Cowley site and may well not be as convenient for some people as the site of the current Blackbird Leys pool.

The campaign to save the existing pools on both sites continues and it is to be hoped that the Labour Party will listen to the financial and social arguments put forward by citizens, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats (and perhaps others).

Charlotte Barrow, Temple Cowley