Demolition of Harlow town swimming pool How the wheels of democracy turn: At a meeting on 4 Dec. it took members of Harlow District Council just two hours to agree the immediate demolition of the swimming pool with the loss of 30 jobs. The land will be turned over to the development of 60 new dwellings. No prior consultation or alternative solution had been sought since the sudden closure two months ago. It was a packed meeting at which questions from the floor were not accepted and public participation was limited to 8 carefully vetted questions. Prepared answers were read out deadpan by the Chairperson. Thirty minutes were alloted for public questions - after just 13 those who still wished to comment were silenced and told to submit their questions in writing. Property and Facilities Manager Joe McGill finally put his name to the recommendation for closure with a full presentation of photographs to show the extent of damage to the roof. However, he admitted that the pool itself was not affected. The danger to the public is due to the state of dis-repair into which the building has fallen; a building that in 2004 was deemed safe by HSE, but by his own estimates had had just 40,000 spent on maintenance in the past 3 years. It would have been possible to considerably reduce the cost of repairs by closing off parts of the building and just fixing the roof. Tender for the work had not been requested so the report contained estimates contrived to make the 730,000 pound costs appear prohibitive. Asked why two Primary schools had not yet received any assistance in finding alternative swimming, Lynn Seward revealed that it had not been necessary to take any action until the decision to close was confirmed. Yet it was clear from the presentation that Officers and Councillors had made up their minds months ago. Ms Seward may have identified other pools but lack of action means that many children will be left out as demand for these 3 school pools (one temporarily closed, another facing closure) far exceeds the available time. Already, hire charges have gone up, and parents are facing increases of as much as 20% for lessons. Only Councillors Bob Davis (Lab) and Jean Clark (Lab) voted against closure, requesting that the costs be re-examined, and that the committee consider whether the life of the pool could be extended for 2 or more years to spread these cost. Up and down the country, pools are closing at a rate of one a month and some building programmes for new pools are running 2-3 years late. We are assured at present the new Harlow pool will open in 18 months, but if this is not the case Harlow could be without a pool for much longer and the costs would look like good value for money. Councillor Robert Thurston (Lib) pointedly ruled Ms Clark's proposal out of order until the first motion had been voted and then raised his hand to favour closure, along with Edna Stevens (Lab), Sarah Dangerfield (Con), Tony Hall (Con) and Muriel Jolles (Con). Mr Thurston and Ms Stevens also voted against providing financial support for swimmers, and against any further investigation into the circumstances that led to this fiasco (virtually their only contribution to the meeting). Fortunately both these proposals by Councillor Hall (Con) were carried. Only Councillors Hall and Clark would apologise to staff and swimmers for the situation. In a shocking display of arrogance, some Councillors attempted to blame Officers for keeping them ill-informed of the condition of the building. Officers took the rap, with Mike White insisting that the poor condition of the building would have been covered by their liability insurance prior to closure but would not now that the report had been published. Yet, all of the damage to the interior has occured over a period of time and was well-known to staff and users for many years. It is most likely these health hazard were indeed in breach of insurance requirements. Chairperson Eleanor Macy (Lib) who on Nov 6 said that the pool was too dangerous for her to permit her son to swim in, claimed this time that up until closure there had been no risk to the public and she had been happy to allow her son to swim. In an act of total indifference she then abstained from the vote. Having restricted public debate at all meetings since the closure, Ms Macy's own conclusions and opinions were published in advance of the decision on the front page of last week's local Herald. People should be in no doubt that she would have voted for demolition had her vote been needed.

Previous statements on pool closure Specialist investigations in relation to the Pool’s electrical system, the hot water system, ceiling struts, windows and Disability Discrimination Act compliance are continuing. At this stage we do not know the full extent of any problems. Investigations will be completed soon and a Special meeting of the Council’s Environment & Community Committee will be held on Tuesday 4 December to consider the outcome of the investigatory report. The timescale for re-opening will depend on the report’s findings, which should tell us the full extent of the repairs needed and the cost. We would like to apologise to pool users for the inconvenience and any disappointment. Unfortunately the building is ageing and from time to time problems will develop. Our priority is to make sure the facilities are usable and safe for the public and it can be difficult to carry out investigations and work without closures due to the long opening hours of the pool. We will continue to keep customers up to date and information will also be available on this website. Wednesday 24 October Temporary closure of Harlow pool "Specialist investigations have started to look at faults in relation to the Pool’s electrical system, the hot water system, ceiling struts, windows and Disability Discrimination Act compliance. This work will take at least four to six weeks to complete. Once we have the full report we will have a clearer idea regarding re-opening. "We would like to apologise to pool users for the inconvenience and any disappointment. Unfortunately the building is ageing and from time to time problems will develop. Our priority is to make sure the facilities are usable for the public and it can be difficult to carry out investigations and work without closures due to the long opening hours of the pool. "We are doing our best to seek alternatives for people, but unfortunately this is proving difficult because Stewards Pool, which is run by the School, is closed for refurbishment at the moment. We are talking to other pools in the area and will let our customers know if we manage to make arrangements. "From Thursday 27 September we will have an information desk for one week (not weekends) in Contact Harlow (Civic Centre) from 9am to 5pm where people can apply for refunds for pre-paid lessons and other activities cancelled as a result of the closure. The Pool can be contacted on 01279 446430 between the hours of 9.30am and 5.00pm Monday to Friday for people wanting further information. "We will continue to keep customers up to date and information will also be available on this website. 26 September 2007