19 November 2008"The council were forced to shut Ilford Swimming Pool, on High Road, following fears over the building's safety. The pool was scheduled for closure in December but the council say a recent structural survey revealed the building was unsafe. John Sharrock, Chair of the Redbridge Swimmer's Association said he was 'totally gutted' at the news."
other local opinions include:
"The Council knew that Ilford Pool had a limited life - indeed they have been talking about its closure for the past 15 years to my knowledge - so how on earth did we arrive at this situation. A lack of forward planning, a total disregard for what the residents of Redbridge really want, total lack of basis housekeeping over the decades that could have funded a new pool several years ago.
The goverment says 'free swimming provision' for over 60's and young people ----- Where?!?!?! Barkingside Pool is already stretched to its maximum with schools, clubs and public fighting for time and space. Ilford Pool caters for a huge variety of groups - something which Barkingside is unable to provide - having only the one pool. Ilfords 'small pool' can provide a safe, warm and contained environment for the more nevous swimmer, the elderly, the disabled - can Barkingside realistically cope with the increase in numbers - I think not!
Finally, how is it that so called Elite swimmers of the London Borough of Redbridge Swimming team were obviously aware of the impending situation before the public - indeed they have had this additional time and assistance to organise a variety of other options for their members. Obviously we dont want these elite swimmers to miss out, but they are in the minority - the general public - the silent majority are the losers here!"
(Via BBC - London - London Local - Upset over pool closure: .)
...more ---> ...| London Borough of Redbridge | 19 November 2008; 12:06:29 PM |# | | Discuss |
17 November 2008
The South London Swimming Club is hosting the third UK Cold Water Swimming Championships on the 24 January 2009 at Tooting Bec Lido in South London.
Just as most sane people are hibernating for the winter, hundreds of swimmers will be braving water temperatures as low as 4 degrees centigrade. Taking on fellow cold water enthusiasts from around the UK and Europe, swimmers will go head-to-head in classic championship races such as the one-width head up breaststroke and 30m freestyle sprint at this year's event.
...more ---> ...| Lido News | 17 November 2008; 11:37:43 PM |# | | Discuss |
4 November 2008
...more ---> ...| in the news | 4 November 2008; 10:39:44 AM |# | image001.jpg 48K | Discuss |
3 November 2008"HIGHLAND Council is being urged not to pull the plug on plans for a swimming pool on the Black Isle.
The appeal from the Black Isle Swimming Pool Foundation comes following a local survey showing overwhelming support for the project, with 92 per cent of parents favouring the concept of paying £3 for each school swimming lesson.
As we revealed last week, a working group has recommended to the council's Education, Culture and Sport Committee that no new swimming pool provision is financially supported by the Council during the life of the next five-year capital plan."
(Via Last-ditch appeal to retain Black Isle pool plan - Ross-shire Journal: .)
...more ---> ..."Campaigners working to get a swimming pool in Swaffham are appealing for everyone to sign up to swim and prove to prospective developers there is a demand for it.
The dream of having a new pool built in the market town is closer to reality than ever before after Swaffham Town Council completed the purchase of a piece of land between the Ecotech Centre and the A47 last month."
(Via EDP24 - Town's swimming pool dream beckons: .)
...more ---> ...| national news | 3 November 2008; 10:57:36 PM |# | | Discuss |
28 October 2008From 12:00-4:00pm on Saturday, 01 November, at Moseley Road Methodist Church, directly opposite Moseley Road baths in Birmingham one of Britain’s most historic and architecturally significant swimming baths, an event is being staged by the Friends of Moseley Road Baths group, as part of their "Pool of Memories" project, which aims to record and archive the stories of those who swam, washed, worked, dived or danced at the building on Moseley Road in Balsall Heath.
The centrepiece of the day will be an exhibition of the photos, video film, reminiscences and artefacts (such as swimming certificates and old costumes) already collected, which visitors will be encouraged to add to by recording their own memories and bringing along their own memorabilia.
(Via Moseley Road Baths-Restoration Project Birmingham: .)
...more ---> ...| 'temporary' pool closures | 28 October 2008; 12:59:17 AM |# | | Discuss |
22 October 2008"A warning to any innocent Hackney writer: question the coming triumph of the 2012 Olympics and, like me, you could achieve the dubious glamour of becoming a banned author. ...
... Hackney Libraries invited me to come back in February 2009 to launch a book I had been working on for more years than I care to remember: Hackney, That Rose-Red Empire. I was happy to accept, believing that a work researched, contrived and constructed in this place should have its first reading right here. A small return on my part for 40 years of madness and inspiration, painting the white lines of football pitches on Hackney Marshes or trawling for used books in Kingsland Waste Market.
Then, last Friday night, I had a call to say sorry, but the invitation was withdrawn. It seemed a diktat had come down from above that I was a non-person and should be barred from the library for the crime of writing an off-message piece on the Olympics. This essay, published in the London Review of Books, responded to aspects of the creation of the Olympic Park in the Lower Lea Valley: the destruction of the Manor Garden allotments, the eviction of travellers, and the famous 'legacy' revealed as nothing more than a gigantic shopping mall in Stratford."
(Via Banned in Hackney - for going off-message about the Olympics |Books | The Guardian: .)
...more ---> ...| London Borough of Hackney | 22 October 2008; 10:23:00 AM |# | | Discuss |
20 October 2008
10 October 2008It would be easy to say that a study into the 'bleedin' obvious' has expensively portrayed what so many people have known and been saying, for free, for so long. In Britain it seems that it isn't enough for everyone to know there is a problem and suffer the consequences of it there has to be a report by 'experts' that says it in 'regeno-whitehall speak' before it is validated. Until that point everyone who says it is a whinger, a squeaky wheel, not a team player, alarmist and they are left ranting on the barren heaths of free thought.
Sometimes such reports are publicised most strongly by the very people who for so long campaigned for patience, reality and reason in the face of a deepening crisis.
"Nearly three million Londoners have poor access to public swimming pools and this number is likely to increase in the run-up to the 2012 Games, a new London Assembly report reveals.
Over a third of Londoners live more than 20 minutes walk from a public swimming pool - such pools which are the most easily accessible make up only 37 per cent of swimming pools in London.
Despite the focus on encouraging Londoners to swim as part of the 2012 sporting legacy and plans to open more pools, anticipated pool closures for refurbishment suggest the actual number of pools will not change significantly by 2012. Also London’s population is likely to increase in this period by nearly 4 per cent."
(Via Public swimming pools mapped : .)
...more ---> ...| in the news | 10 October 2008; 11:24:18 PM |# | | Discuss |
"Campaigners fighting to reopen a 75-year-old outdoor swimming pool have reluctantly thrown in the towel.
It was estimated it would cost close to £500,000 to get the lido at Hendy near Llanelli up and running again.
Residents fought for years to raise funds but the campaign committee has voted to end the struggle.
Carmarthenshire Council has pledged money to develop the site with a new artificial sports pitch and other facilities instead."
(Via BBC NEWS | Wales | South West Wales | Lido campaigners end long battle: .)
...more ---> ... 9 October 2008This week's Hackney Gazette tells how work estimated in excess of £22,000,000 is being considered to refurbish the listed Haggerston Baths in Laburnum Street E2. The baths were closed 2000 when the council alleged it was unable to foot the several hundred thousand pound bill to keep it open.
At the same time as this planning and discussion is going on the long rumoured review of Kings Hall Leisure Centre in Lower Clapton that has lost two of its tanks in the last 20 years. The future of the two pools (Kings Hall and Haggerston) are linked and the public may be given a Hobson's Choice. Despite decades of requests for a long-term plan for swimming pool provision in the borough a lifeline for one may spell the death-knell for the other.
There is no indication of whether a plan or feasibility is being produced for a complete overhaul of the ailing Britannia Leisure Centre which is a natural choice for a superb new facility on the city borders with space aplenty.
...more ---> ...| Haggerston Pool | 9 October 2008; 5:16:28 PM |# | | Discuss |
"MINISTER FOR Sport Martin Cullen has insisted that the programme to build 57 local authority swimming pools will be completed.
Mr Cullen said he hoped Ireland would achieve the international average of one pool per 28,000 people, but acknowledged that 'given current budgetary constraints, it is not intended to launch a new round at this time'.
Labour sports spokeswoman Dr Mary Upton said Mr Cullen would 'want to get building'. It was the Government's objective to reach one pool per 50,000 by 2011, but 'at present Ireland has one pool per 58,000' while in the North it was one for every 32,000 people and one for 15,000 in Scotland, she said."
(Via Building of 57 swimming pools to be completed, says Cullen - The Irish Times - Thu, Oct 09, 2008: .)
...more ---> ... 7 October 2008"Olympics chiefs' plans for the sporting legacy of the 2012 Games took a blow today as the provision of public swimming pools in London was revealed.
An unprecedented audit of facilities by the London Assembly shows that after decades of closures 40 per cent of Londoners live more than one mile - or 20 minutes' walk - from their nearest public pool.
The report's authors warned that provision of public pools was unlikely to improve before the 2012 Olympics.
They said the findings suggest ministers will find it difficult to boost participation in sport - a key legacy aim of the London Games - through its £140 million free swimming scheme for children and over-sixties. The survey adds to concerns about public sports facilities raised by the Standard's campaign for a legacy from the London Olympics."
(Via 'Londoners won't have more public swimming pools by 2012' | 2012 London Olympics: .)
...more ---> ...| newspapers | 7 October 2008; 11:35:51 PM |# | | Discuss |
5 October 2008"This web site has been set up to help publicise the campaign to save the Portishead Open Air Pool, and to provide ways to coordinate all the various efforts people are making to take the fight to North Somerset council.
PLease note that everything with an asterisk * is either an idea or will be working soon. Please keep coming back as new information is being added nearly every day, and also send your ideas, pictures,copies of letter to councillors, MPs and the media, etc. etc.. To email me (David Coombes) click this link. Please also visit Roger Whitfield's Save the Pool web site (http://www.nortechcomputers.co.uk/pool/), which amongst other things has information about the campaign for a Community Trust to run the pool."
(Via Save Portishead Open Air Pool: .)
...more ---> ... 3 October 2008Anne O'Connell, a Twickenham-based film maker, wrote to Oliver yesterday:
"I wanted to let you know about a short documentary I have made about Hampton Pool. It is a 10 minute film featuring the ex-chair of the board of trustees talking about the local struggle to save the pool, and features some cine film of the pool from the 1920's and 1930's.
We are screening the film this Sunday 5th October at the pool at 10am and copies of the film will be on sale in the pool shop, price £3, with proceeds going to support the pool See http://www.hamptonpool.co.uk/ [The pool is open for swimming, as usual on Sundays from 9am to 5pm - and 365 days a year - OM.]
It would be great if members of the Lidos Yahoo Group could tell people about this new film.
The film will also be shown at "Arthur's on the Green" (a restaurant in Twickenham) as part of their film nights:
...more ---> ... 1 October 2008The pool in Wigan closed to the public on the 21st September.
This is one of the pools that the haed of the ASA quoted as having an "excellent diving facility, which needed a little updating" Well it's updated now David, it's being demolished in December!!
Funnily enough the new pool, built to 'national standards' will not have diving boards in it. It will also not be available for 2 years, so no swimming in Wigan for that period of time!
"Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust would like to thank you for your custom over the years at Wigan International Pool and Profiles gym.
The Pool was opened in 1968 with residents of the borough benefiting from over 40 years use of the facility, including free swimming for children aged 16 and under since April 2005 and for the over 60s since 2006. Throughout the years, the facilities have helped to hone local talent through its various swimming clubs, notably Wigan BEST (formerly Wigan Wasps), resulting in some record breaking results and national champions.
However, the facilities are now in need of extensive upgrade in order meet your needs for the future and we are about to embark on an improvement programme to redevelop the whole complex. The scope of this project will mean that the existing pool needs to close for around 2 years to make way for the work to progress."
(Via Wigan International Pool: .)
...more ---> ...| in the news | 1 October 2008; 8:39:09 AM |# | | Discuss |
"THE doors of Portishead Open Air Pool were shut for what could be the final time last night.
Staff working at the pool closed the doors on the seafront attraction at the end of the summer season on a day when more than 80 people visited the 1960s lido for a swim.
North Somerset Council is recommending closing the pool for good after claiming it costs £130,000 a year to subsidise.
A special review panel set up by the authority to scrutinise the costs of the pool said the money could be better spent on other priorities, including the Parish Wharf Leisure Centre in the town."
(Via Final dip for Portishead swimmers: .)
...more ---> ...| in the news | 1 October 2008; 8:35:24 AM |# | | Discuss |
27 September 2008"Welcome to the Society of Wet Poets and Artists. This collection of poems, art and photography, all done by swimmers, is not just unique, but a mirror of the depth of creativity that swimmers have expressed from a wet world that many have enjoyed over many centuries. Many writers over the ages have expressed eloquently the beauty and magic, as well as tragedy, that water has held for man- kind. But never has there been collected work all done by swimmers and not land- lubbers. "
(Via Wet Poets Society Introduction: .)
...more ---> ...| in the news | 27 September 2008; 12:22:49 AM |# | | Discuss |
26 September 2008"None of the capital's newest flagship schools has a swimming pool, despite the sport being on the national curriculum and Britain's success at the Beijing Games last month. Many also lack tennis courts, running tracks or gyms.
Teachers warned that schools would be left with a 'tatty' legacy from the 2012 Games. It comes after Culture Secretary Andy Burnham promised last week that school sport would be at the heart of the 'Olympic era'.
But dozens of swimming pools are closing across England under Gordon Brown's school rebuilding programme, and figures show many children are still not playing enough games.
Meanwhile, the academy proposed for the 2012 Olympic Village has dropped plans to specialise in sport."
(Via Eight new academies ... and not one has its own swimming pool | 2012 London Olympics: .)
...more ---> ...| olympic news | 26 September 2008; 10:23:05 AM |# | | Discuss |
"OPEN air swimming pools in two market towns could be forced to close if community groups cannot afford to take them over.
The pools in Beccles and Halesworth are both run by Waveney District Council, but cost the authority thousands of pounds every year to operate and maintain.
Now the council has decided that as the pools are not providing value for money, it will either hand them over to community groups or close them for good."
(Via EADT - Towns risk losing swimming pools: .)
...more ---> ...| in the news | 26 September 2008; 9:51:33 AM |# | | Discuss |
9 September 2008"Local Authorities across England have one week left to decide if they will offer free swimming for over 60s.
Secretary of state for culture, media and sport Andy Burnham announced a £140 million investment on 6 June, which will give councils the opportunity to offer free swimming for the over 60s and under 16s.
The plans are part of the Government's aim to ensure a lasting sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic Games.
But the LGA were sceptical, as the announcement came just a month after John Healy advised them to make money by charging and trading.
Finance spokesman Stephen Jones said the Government needed to make up its mind whether 'they want to control charges or they want councils to do it.'"
(Via LocalGov.co.uk - Your authority on UK Local Government > LocalGov.co.uk - Your authority on UK Local Government > Councils have one week to decide on free swimming: .)
...more ---> ...| in the news | 9 September 2008; 4:43:57 PM |# | | Discuss |
3 September 2008"The poor state of London's council-run sports facilities is exposed by the Evening Standard today.
Figures show a postcode lottery in sports amenities, with six out of 33 local authorities lacking an athletics track."
(Via London sports facilities are costly and thin on the ground | 2012 London Olympics: .)
...more ---> ...| newspapers | 3 September 2008; 4:01:30 PM |# | | Discuss |
"A protest is being held over plans to demolish a 124-year-old swimming pool in south-east London."
(Via BBC NEWS | England | Protest over Victorian pool: .)
...more ---> ...| London Borough of Lewisham | 3 September 2008; 12:13:49 AM |# | | Discuss |
5 August 2008 9 July 2008"
At last week's Council meeting Cllr Andrew Milton proposed the following motion:
'The Council notes with concern that contamination by Legionelle bacteria has caused the closure of Ladywell Leisure Centre pool and urges the Mayor to ensure that when it is reopened it is maintained to a good standard of hygiene'
Unfortunately a Labour amendment has eliminated from the motion the words 'to ensure that when it is reopened it is maintained to a good standard of hygiene' and replaced them with words urging the Mayor to work with the Council's partners to deliver new facilities and congratulating the Government for its announcement that free swimming will be available to everyone by 2012.
As the words 'when it is reopened' have been removed the approved motion does not make the Mayor commit to reopen the Pool.
Any speculation is legitimate. We have been dealing long enough with Lewisham Council to know that alongside some very good people there are unfortunately some slithering snakes too and they may well be hard at work right now. The fact that there have been no details given as to when the pool will reopen only add to the fear.
But of course the lack of details may well be down to ineptitude, after all, this sorry tale is all about ineptitude.
"
(Via save Ladywell Pool Will Ladywell Pool re-open?: .)
...more ---> ...| Ladywell Leisure Centre | 9 July 2008; 4:49:31 PM |# | | Discuss |
23 June 2008"Saxon Crown would really benefit if there were a minimum of a training pool and a main 25-metre pool. The main pool should be at least 6 lanes wide and at least 1.2m deep in the shallow end for safe turns and dives. Our swimmers will need good quality anti-wave lane ropes, starting blocks and backstroke flags. Our priorities will also be for wide poolside walkways for both main pool and training pool as well as storage. The swimmers need ample changing facilities and their parents/supporters need somewhere to sit and watch and maybe gym or other facilities for them to use while waiting for their children to swim.
We would really appreciate special facilities for disabled swimmers, including hoists and wheelchair-friendly changing facilities. A viewing gallery with seating for over 100 people would be useful if we were to host a swimming gala."
(Via Forest Hill Society: Saxon Crown Swimming Club writes: .)
...more ---> ...| London Borough of Lewisham | 23 June 2008; 10:45:54 PM |# | | Discuss |
11 June 2008"Gillian Dovey, founder of First Strokes Swim Schools and Colchester businesswoman of the year, today welcomed the announcement, but said more could be done.
She explained: 'I think it's a very good idea, and I'm pleased the Government is trying to do something to meet this need.
'However, it is a very small part of what is needed.
'Schools haven't got the money to send children for swimming in the first place.
'Swimming in schools is mostly subsidised by parents and, with many leisure centres turning private, schools don't have the money to pay for lessons.'"
(Via Colchester More Swim Cash Needed (from Gazette): .)
...more ---> ...| in the news | 11 June 2008; 8:52:55 AM |# | | Discuss |
2 June 2008"Today Lewisham Council told the local press that it knew of the presence of Legionella Bacteria since analysis' results received on 16th May.
The Council also say that at receiving the news they immediately instructed the contractors to close the showers.
As far as we know the showers closed on the following day May 17th.What is really incredible is that for two weeks following the discovery of the bacteria the Council decided not to inform the public that the showers were contaminated.
Ladywell Leisure Centre sees hundreds of users each day and all of them have been at risk of contracting a fatal disease, a disease that takes a few days to incubate and explode, the decision of the Council to keep the matter under lead during those critical days is, in our views, a criminal one."
(Via save Ladywell Pool Council knew for weeks and didn't tell anyone: .)
A COUNCIL STATEMENT (undated) ...more ---> ...
| London Borough of Lewisham | 2 June 2008; 2:10:55 PM |# | | Discuss |
1 June 2008"A SWIMMING pool was closed yesterday (May 29) after bacteria which can cause Legionnaires disease was found in the showers.
Ladywell pool in Lewisham High Street has been shut until further notice because of the Legionella bacteria.
A spokesman for Lewisham Council said: 'We have acted quickly as a precaution to ensure the safety of Ladywell pool users and staff.
'We do not believe there is any immediate danger. There have been no instances of illness reported to us.
'The health and safety of our service users is paramount and the council is working with Parkwood, the borough's leisure centre contractors, to ensure a safe environment"
(Via Legionnaires Bacteria Closes Swimming Pool (from News Shopper): .)
...more ---> ...| London Borough of Lewisham | 1 June 2008; 9:07:38 PM |# | | Discuss |
30 May 2008| London Borough of Islington | 30 May 2008; 3:37:15 PM |# | | Discuss |
19 May 2008"Council swimming pools are shutting at the rate of seven a month, with the mendacious excuse of underuse generally cited as the reason for closure. Everywhere, the arrival of summer is marked by the sight of stomachs spilling over waistbands. It cannot be a coincidence."
(Via Why are we all swimming in red tape? - Telegraph: .)
...more ---> ...| newspapers | 19 May 2008; 9:51:39 AM |# | | Discuss |
16 May 2008"Construction of the aquatics venue for the 2012 London Olympics will begin this summer after city officials approved the plan. The 17,500-capacity center will host swimming, diving, synchronized swimming, the water polo finals and the swimming portion of the modern pentathlon.
The Olympic Delivery Authority said Wednesday that construction on the aquatics venue would begin before the Beijing Games in August and will be completed in 2011."
(Via Swimming venue gets OK for London Games - USATODAY.com: .)
...more ---> ...| olympic news | 16 May 2008; 9:48:03 PM |# | | Discuss |
8 May 2008"THERE are few things which attract less interest hereabouts than the politics of London in general and the doings of the mayor of the city in particular but the election of Boris Johnson to succeed Ken Livingstone may yet prove a turning point in the build-up to the biggest sporting event our capital has ever seen. Livingstone knew and cared as much about sport as most of us do about the works of Karl Marx but he was an astute enough politician to become engaged in the Olympic process simply because he knew he could use some of the money being invested to help him improve the living standards of those in the east of his constituency who would reward him with their support."
(Via Bill Bridge: Banking on Boris to bring Olympic sanity - Yorkshire Post: .)
...more ---> ...| olympic news | 8 May 2008; 3:53:13 PM |# | | Discuss |
"A LAKE District swimming pool closed to the public following years of financial instability could reopen in 10 days' time.
Troutbeck Bridge Swimming Pool shut its doors last week after being placed in administration.
But the pool's trustees are positive about its future.
They say the new owners will provide a secure future for the community pool."
(Via barrow in furness, barrow news sport, ulverston news sport, lake district news: .)
...more ---> ...| in the news | 8 May 2008; 2:50:57 AM |# | | Discuss |
5 May 2008"PETERSFIELD Swimming Club has pledged £1,000 to the campaign to re-tile the open air pool.
Phil Mackenzie, swimming club organiser and pool trustee, presented a cheque to Viv Mays at the pool.
Mr Mackenzie said: "The history of the swimming club and pool are intertwined. The club was formed when the pool first opened, and its survival is directly linked with that of the pool itself. This is more that just a swimming pool – this is a great venue where children and adults alike can enjoy swimming, diving, and socialising, safely under the ever-watchful eyes of the dedicated staff; a fabulous open-air oasis.""
(Via Swimming club pledges funds - Petersfield Today: .)
...more ---> ...| in the news | 5 May 2008; 7:19:39 PM |# | | Discuss |
23 April 2008Broomhill Pool, Ipswich opened on April 30th 1938 and closed in the autumn of 2002; a continuous campaign has been fought to see the pool restored and re-opened and the Broomhill Pool Trust have recently submitted a bid for Heritage Lottery Funding. Please come to the:-
OPEN DAY SATURDAY 26TH APRIL
TIME: 10AM - 5PM
ENTRANCE: FREE (but donations welcomed!)
LOCATION: BROOMHILL POOL (entrance to the pool is via Sherrington Road, off Norwich Rd)
EXHIBITION of the lido's history and hopeful future
In the evening there is a barbecue and party at the Emperor Pub in Norwich Road.
See Events Section of www.savebroomhillpool.org for further details. NB The lido is not open for swimming!
...more ---> ...| Broomhill Lido | 23 April 2008; 4:25:38 PM |# | | Discuss |
20 April 2008"People are angry about Toronto's proposed school swimming-pool closings. Not just parents - all sorts of people. It's hit a nerve, and it's a gut reaction - as if the government were threatening to take away something from our children that's so essential it's considered a right, like food or air.
I myself learned to swim in Lake Superior at the age of 6, taught by my older brother, who wasn't telling the absolute truth when he said he wouldn't let go. Sink or swim was the lesson: You kick to stay afloat. So, lucky me: Unlike today's urban kids, I had a big, unpolluted lake to learn in.
But here's the drawback: I didn't learn to swim really well, because Lake Superior was so freezing cold you couldn't stay in for long without turning azure. And by the time I was old enough to know what a comparatively lousy swimmer I was, it was too late for me to shed my bad swimming habits. Swimming, like talking, is something kids learn best when they're young."
(Via globeandmail.com: Rich kids swim, poor kids sink: .)
...more ---> ...| in the news | 20 April 2008; 6:57:52 PM |# | | Discuss |
18 April 2008"A father has described his anger after he and his son were refused entry to their local swimming pool because they weren't Muslims.
David Toube and Harry, five, were turned away by staff from the men-only session.
The council has now admitted that workers at Clissold Leisure Centre in Hackney, north London, made a mistake and offered the family an apology.
Mr Toube, 39, a lawyer, said they visited the baths at 9am on Sunday.
'I arrived at the pool to discover that they were holding what staff described to me as 'Muslim men-only swimming",' he said."
(Via 'Non-Muslim' father banned from London pool - Telegraph: .)
...more ---> ...| London Borough of Hackney | 18 April 2008; 10:36:47 PM |# | | Discuss |
17 April 2008"THERE was a good attendance at the Ilford Leisure Centre Users' meeting on Tuesday, April 8. Recorder readers will not be surprised to hear of the expressions of anger and frustration resulting from the impending closure of the pools, although the exercise and dance rooms may survive.
No councillors were present to hear the blame heaped upon them. However, the neglect goes back at least 20 years, so it is unlikely that any party can be more effective than another in improving facilities.
This administration tried to use town centre regeneration money for a 50m pool, although the plan failed because of the unsuitability of the site. It has succeeded in renovating Fullwell Cross pool, which was also in a bad state, otherwise there would be no pool at all before long in this expanding borough.
Meanwhile, the plans made in the 1980s to build a 25m pool for the west of the borough have long been forgotten. I was expecting these to be revived rather than the proposal for a 50m pool, but assume that this was to take advantage of training needs for the Olympics as well as awareness of the increasing need to replace the Ilford pools."
(Via Ilford Recorder - No one makes a splash about swimming: .)
...more ---> ...| in the news | 17 April 2008; 6:57:06 PM |# | | Discuss |
13 April 2008"Champagne bottles were cracked open in Burnham on Tuesday evening (April 8th) as delighted councillors led the celebrations to mark the unveiling of new bosses to run the town's swimming pool."
(Via Celebrations as Burnham swimming pool is saved from closure: .)
...more ---> ...| Dorset Pools | 13 April 2008; 10:19:24 PM |# | | Discuss |
7 April 2008"A WYCOMBE swimming pool has been forced to close for the first few days of the school Easter holiday because of a split water pipe.
The main pool at Wycombe Sport Centre, Handy Cross, was shut on Friday after the main water pipe split.
It is expected the pool will remain closed for the first few days of this week.
Members of the public should contact Wycombe Sports Centre on 01494 688123 to check whether the pool is open before visitin"
(Via Swimming Pool Closes (from Bucks Free Press): .)
...more ---> ...| in the news | 7 April 2008; 2:03:19 PM |# | | Discuss |
5 April 2008"PARENTS and coaches have warned that council plans to relocate a swimming club may force it to close.
Under the Greenwich Council plans, Eltham Stingrays club will need to move to Thamesmere Leisure Centre, Thamesmere Drive, Thamesmead, in September.
The 130-member club, which has had its pool time cut since the opening of the new Eltham Centre, Archery Road, met with councillors this week to discuss the plans.
Councillors says the shake-up is aimed at strengthening support for top-level competitive swimmers in the run-up to the 2012 Olympics.
The council says it wants to provide better use of pool time for competitive swimmers to train more frequently, greater opportunities for learners and pooling of coaches across the borough"
(Via Relocation May Close Swimming Club (from News Shopper): .)
...more ---> ..."CAMPAIGNERS fighting to save St Annes pool have been given a glimmer of hope following crunch talks on the future of swimming in Fylde.
The future of the facility is back in the balance after discussions held behind closed doors at Lytham's Lowther Pavilion.
Fylde Council has agreed to work with the YMCA, which already has sports facilities in Lytham and St Annes, to ensure the pool remains open until its July 31 closing date."
(Via New talks to save swimming baths - Blackpool Today: .)
...more ---> ...| pools at risk | 5 April 2008; 12:45:11 PM |# | | Discuss |
1 April 2008"'The Government is doing its best to promote healthy living - that's what the smoking ban is about. They know they need to crack down on obesity, but if you are closing swimming pools, how does that help you to promote good health? What's more, if you close pools, you will ultimately diminish our performance in the sport.'
Foster worries that swimming is no longer an option in this country for millions of potentially talented children whose local pool may have been closed. 'If a teenaged Mark Foster was coming along today it would be a lot more difficult than it was when I was young,' he said.
'I think the sport in general is becoming a lot more middle-class. Your parents have to have a car to drive you to the nearest pool or you are stuffed, and that can't be right.'"
(Via Mark Foster's Beijing Olympics dream - Telegraph: .)
...more ---> ...| newspapers | 1 April 2008; 10:32:01 AM |# | | Discuss |
9 March 2008"The Government face further embarrassment today over the figures they claim for swimming pool and diving provision in the country.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal that almost 40 per cent of Sport England's database of 171 diving facilities listed on the Active Places website are inaccessible to the public, with almost one third of them belonging to public schools.
Of the 171 on the list, 51 diving facilities belong to independent fee-paying schools, six have 'closed' written beside them, five others are known to the Great Britain Diving Federation to have closed, while six are on military bases."
(Via Government include closed pools in their data - Telegraph: .)
...more ---> ...| newspapers | 9 March 2008; 9:06:09 PM |# | | Discuss |
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