Death knell for Pitsea swimming pool as council chiefs say it will close (From Echo)
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Death knell for Pitsea swimming pool as council chiefs say it will close
4:33pm Wednesday 5th September 2012 in News By Jon Austin
CAMPAIGNERS fighting to keep Pitsea swimming pool were today dealt a bitter blow after council chiefs published a report recommending its closure.
An agenda published ahead of next week’s cabinet meeting outlines a council plan to transfer the ownership of the pool to London and Cambridge Properties to enable a major regeneration of the town.
Residents and opposition councillors reacted angrily to the news and vowed to still fight to keep it open.
However, the council’s ruling Tories said the plans are the only way to secure a brighter future for ailing Pitsea town centre.
Under the plans the pool in Northlands Pavement, row of shops including Aldi, and part of the market will be lost to a large new Morrison’s supermarket which will create 350 local jobs and 200 more during construction.
Six new shop units will be developed alongside the supermarket, including a new home for Aldi, while a new 100 pitch market will go on the site of the former Railway Hotel and offices, including Pembroke House, which will be revamped creating an opportunity for 50 further jobs.
Malcolm Buckley, cabinet member for environment said: “Pitsea town centre is declining and in need of investment – this is not in any doubt, and the council has to take this opportunity for major private investment.
Gavin Callaghan, Labour councillor for Pitsea North West, vowed to keep fighting to secure the pool staying open as part of the regeneration.
He said: “We were elected on a pledge that we would fight to keep the pool open. More than 3,000 people have signed a petition against the closure, but under a council procedure they won’t discuss
that for another six months."
Comments(24)
gumbley
says...
5:34pm Wed 5 Sep 12
Eric Whim
says...
5:53pm Wed 5 Sep 12
Basildon Council Communications wrote:can the residents of the area of Pitsea that are going to get that million quid handout from the Lottery use it to by the pool?
gumbley wrote: Another example of the Tory Olympic legacy, let alone the effect on youngsters chances of learning to swim. Will they now evict the tenants of Billericay Swimming pool and allow house building on the site? Unlikely as people there still vote Tory!Billericay swimming pool is a council owned or run swimming pool. All school swimming lessons will be relocated nearby, as will the learn to swim programme.
CleverPoliticalSlogan
says...
6:07pm Wed 5 Sep 12
Rich~Carol
says...
6:36pm Wed 5 Sep 12
The pool is used regular by locals who want to swim, they do training for young kids there to learn to swim, lots of aqua arobics classes deep water shallow water and aqua zumba twice a week, life saving classes, disabled peoples swim plus many more water activities for the people of pitsea and outsiders.
The nearest pool now will be Basildon and hard to get there for local people on the pitsea pool estate. I am fffukin disgusted.
Best they stop telling and bullying the people of pitsea to get fit get active.
jolllyboy
says...
7:19pm Wed 5 Sep 12
No matter what the people want.
So much for democracy.
What has this country come to.
Vote them out.
It is the same in Southend. I cannot understand - why do people vote them in ? Where is all the money going ?
The roads are just going to get more crowded getting to these 'local' facilities. If you cannot travel far its tough.
President3
says...
7:55pm Wed 5 Sep 12
Gloucester Park (and the swimming pool we waited so long for) is given away to developers (to pay for the white elephant called 'The Sporting Village'), local playing fields are being sold to pay the interest on the massive loans this crappy council took out to build their white elephant, Basildon Golf course is being run down in preparation for it's sale (again to developers) and now this.
Whatever happened to the word 'legacy'???
Everybody - please remember these decisions at the next council elections!!!!
TheWizzard
says...
8:13pm Wed 5 Sep 12
tac123
says...
8:35pm Wed 5 Sep 12
The problem is this, in the affluent northern Basildon wards, Wickford and billericay, the Tories are still voted in as they look after these wards at the expense of the basildon wards of vange and Pitsea! These wards are predominantly labour wards, the tories keep a hold on power due to the fact that they control more wards and they look after these wards whatever the cost to those living in the labour wards! Another good example of this is with the Tory sell off of playing fields in the labour controlled wards such as Kent view road and laindon, shockingly no playing fields are to be sold in Wickford or billericay or any other Tory controlled ward! All of this to pay off the debts incurred due to the sporting pillage!
TheWizzard
says...
8:50pm Wed 5 Sep 12
tac123 wrote:And they have the cheek to say we are all in this together, if that is so, where is the Billericay Masterplan?
Jollyboy,
The problem is this, in the affluent northern Basildon wards, Wickford and billericay, the Tories are still voted in as they look after these wards at the expense of the basildon wards of vange and Pitsea! These wards are predominantly labour wards, the tories keep a hold on power due to the fact that they control more wards and they look after these wards whatever the cost to those living in the labour wards! Another good example of this is with the Tory sell off of playing fields in the labour controlled wards such as Kent view road and laindon, shockingly no playing fields are to be sold in Wickford or billericay or any other Tory controlled ward! All of this to pay off the debts incurred due to the sporting pillage!
Rich~Carol
says...
9:32pm Wed 5 Sep 12
TheWizzard wrote:I know 2 Conservative councillors personlly as one lives in my mews in Ramsden Heath and the other at Langdon Hills and they fought hard against the ppoxy Labour scum who go along with everything against the lower income people and council tenants in Pitsea... Labour, I wouldnt SSShit on them. I was one Tory that fought hard and Im still fighting and supporting that the pitsea pool stays.
tac123 wrote:And they have the cheek to say we are all in this together, if that is so, where is the Billericay Masterplan?
Jollyboy,
The problem is this, in the affluent northern Basildon wards, Wickford and billericay, the Tories are still voted in as they look after these wards at the expense of the basildon wards of vange and Pitsea! These wards are predominantly labour wards, the tories keep a hold on power due to the fact that they control more wards and they look after these wards whatever the cost to those living in the labour wards! Another good example of this is with the Tory sell off of playing fields in the labour controlled wards such as Kent view road and laindon, shockingly no playing fields are to be sold in Wickford or billericay or any other Tory controlled ward! All of this to pay off the debts incurred due to the sporting pillage!
Dont tell me about the poxxxy Labour mutants. People like Julie, denise, Sarah, David and other instructors at Pitsea pool know me personally so ask them how much effort we Torys have put into keeping the pool open for the residents of Pitsea.
I had a stand up shouting match with the 2 faced trio of Aidan McGurran, Gavin Callaghan and Byron Taylor and Lord Coe also said to them shame on you for selling the residents of Pitsea and Vange up the river. Lord Coe is still going to address the Labour scum bag councillors at the meeting planned end of September. I might be rich but I dont forget the poverty we had in the 40s and 50s when Labour was labour so dont lecture to me its the Torys, because its NOT and if the Torys would have got in in these poor deprived areas the pool would stay and quite rightly it FFuckin well should stay.
Sometimes you people talk through your aarrseholes !
tac123
says...
10:07pm Wed 5 Sep 12
40's and 50's, do you actually have dementia? The depression that followed the second world war was a direct result of seven years fighting the nazis, every country in the world suffered because of it, it had noting to do with which party was in power!
My argument is only this, the local Tory council have a rich history of screwing us in the south of the borough to the benefit of those in the north, it's a fact that is obvious to all who care to look not the history of Basildon!
TheWizzard
says...
10:12pm Wed 5 Sep 12
whataday
says...
10:58pm Wed 5 Sep 12
Also I was under the impression the Railway Tavern is a listed building so how comes it and offices can be pulled down to make way for a market etc.
v.randy
says...
2:13am Thu 6 Sep 12
And of course by then the profit motivate parties involved would have flogged the land to greedy Property Dev's and you'll never see the likes of librarys,swimming pools or other community facilities again.
Our communities will just be wall to wall second- rate ghettos for rich landlords to exploit whilst Councils rub their hands with glee as slowly their purpose dimishes as they'll eventually provide NO facilties whatsoever...plenty of time on their hands then to plan their early retirements courtesy of the very people they claim to serve.
Imbroglio
says...
10:55pm Thu 6 Sep 12
CleverPoliticalSlogan
says...
11:16pm Thu 6 Sep 12
Rich~Carol
says...
12:55pm Fri 7 Sep 12
Eric Whim
says...
5:46pm Fri 7 Sep 12
CleverPoliticalSlogathey can play in Northlands Park or over at Eversley if they are allowed out of mummies sight for more than a few minutes and promise not to get their trainers muddy or want to stray more than a few steps from the big stash of pop and crisps in the larder which is, in turn, a few feet from the big armchair for their ever expanding fat arses and not too far from the wii box 360 DS and wall size flat screen TV.
n wrote:
This is a disgrace pitsea children have nothing to do now apart from hang around shops. Pitsea is going to turn into a slum.....this is not a re generation of a town its running down a town!
Eric Whim
says...
5:46pm Fri 7 Sep 12
CleverPoliticalSlogathey can play in Northlands Park or over at Eversley if they are allowed out of mummies sight for more than a few minutes and promise not to get their trainers muddy or want to stray more than a few steps from the big stash of pop and crisps in the larder which is, in turn, a few feet from the big armchair for their ever expanding fat arses and not too far from the wii box 360 DS and wall size flat screen TV.
n wrote:
This is a disgrace pitsea children have nothing to do now apart from hang around shops. Pitsea is going to turn into a slum.....this is not a re generation of a town its running down a town!
TheWizzard
says...
12:48pm Sat 8 Sep 12
Rich~Carol wrote:Merry Christmas from the tories eh, whats next on their 'hit list' Basildon sports center then the Eversley leisure centre
Just had a long phone call with a councillor and I am now informing you all that the Pitsea Pool with be closed forever around the 20th December this year and this is not a wind up or a spoof mail this is 100 percent the truth and its disgusting. I do not tell silly stories or tell rubbish. Carol
Imbroglio
says...
5:02pm Sun 9 Sep 12
TheWizzard
says...
6:20pm Sun 9 Sep 12
Imbroglio wrote:I have heard that the council is in debt to the tune of around £200,000,000
How can anyone think this is a good idea?
wickford75
says...
9:02pm Wed 19 Sep 12
Eric Whim says...
5:23pm Wed 5 Sep 12