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Mayor makes a U-turn on Forest Hill Pool

When two years ago, following a lengthy and extensive consultation, Mayor Bullock had said that Forest Hill Pools would have been refurbished, many in Lewisham celebrated, some cynics thought "I believe it when I see it".

Fast forward two years and the Mayor decides that the Victorian complex of Forest Hill Pools will be demolished to make way for a new pool. Further analysis done by the consultants for Lewisham Council show that the refurbishment would be too risky. Two years ago this was not clear to them.

Together with the pools the adjacent Louise House will also be redeveloped. Receipts from the sale of the land for housing will offset the cost of the new pool.These are two historical buildings standing next to the listed library and many in Forest Hill will surely oppose this decision. The fact that the proposed replacement is a more limited provision than the current Victorian Pool is another reason for discontent.

On the other side of the argument a modern pool will surely be a facility that gives a much higher guarantee of being there tomorrow and the day after. The current provision, given the unwillingness of the Council to invest in a program of repair and maintenance, has stood for years on the brink of closure by neglect until two years ago the beams of the roof were declared unsafe and the pool closed for real leaving he area bereft of this key asset.

This closure was supposed to bring forward the refurbishment, only that the day of the start of the works never arrived, what arrived is a Mayoral U-turn.

Read here (link) the full report on Forest Hill Pools for the Mayor and Cabinet meeting of 13th February 2008.

...read more...

Forest Hill Pools closed

Lewisham Council is closing Forest Hill Pools with immediate effect following urgent health and safety advice.

Individual users can continue to use other Lewisham leisure facilities.

Alternative arrangements are being discussed with school and club users on an individual basis.

Regular health and safety assessments of the Forest Hill Pools are made because of their age. Concerns were raised over structural safety during a recent inspection.

A surveyor was called in to assess the state of the roof over the main pool. The surveyor has unequivocally recommended the immediate closure of the pools. A copy of the surveyor's report will be made available to interested parties.

Detailed investigations of the building will now be undertaken to establish the extent of the problems with the roof. The pools will not now be able to be re-opened until their full refurbishment. It remains the policy of the Council to maintain swimming at this site.

The closure of Forest Hill Pools, caused by decades of under-investment in repair and maintenance, creates a void in the swimming provision of the Borough that cannot be easily filled.

Without it the repercussion of an eventual closure of Ladywell Pool would be ever more damaging.

Expect Ladywell Pools busy to bursting point with schools, much more pool time for the swimming club and less time for free lane and leisure swimming.

It just shows how close we always are to fatal under-provision and how Ladywell can't be allowed to close before a replacement is effectively delivered. ...read more...

Forest Hill information finally available

Now that the consultation on Forest Hill Pools is finished, Lewisham Council makes available all those information that people had asked for in order to make an informed decision.

Lewisham Council seems always more determined to insult the intelligence of the residents.

The Council web-site also contains a FAQ page.

It gives all sorts of misinforming messages. Like when it says:

"We believe that there is sufficient capacity within the schools swimming programme to accommodate schools at other sites."

But then they say that they don't actually know as:

"Headteachers have received a letter inviting them to talk to us about school timetabling and these meetings will take place over the next few months."

But one piece of information that we get is that the promised new pool at Wavelenghts by 2007 has now moved to 2008.

The Mayor had said:

I aim to get this open before Ladywell closes in 2007.

Moving the timetable for Wavelenghts to 2008 allows Mayor Bullock to go at next election (May 2006) without any work done on that promise.

If that had stayed as 2007, by the time the election come, the plan and its financing would have to be already in place and works about to start.

As for why the Council seems so set to demolish and rebuild at Forest Hill, rather then refurbish and improve the existing pool, here's an interesting answer from the FAQ:

Why can’t you create a new side entrance to the pool to avoid the cross-contamination?

We did investigate whether this could be incorporated with a refurbishment option to look but the cost would have been prohibitive at around £6.25m.

That's a £2.25m increase for a side entrance.

Are we sure that this plans were drawn by competent consultants?

How much did we pay Capita for this appraisal? ...read more...

Second Forest Hill consultation meeting

Lewisham Council - Second Forest Hill consultation meeting:

"Steve Bullock, Mayor of Lewisham, wants everybody with views about Forest Hill Pools to attend the second public consultation meeting and have their say on its future. The meeting will be held at Sydenham Girls' School on October 27 from 7.30pm.

Steve said: 'The last public meeting was really well attended and I hope this one will be even more so. It is vital I have the chance to meet face-to-face with everyone so I can properly gauge public opinion.'"

(Via Lewisham Council News.)

At the first meeting an assembly of 150 residents told him unanimously that they prefer to have their old pool refurbished.

Is the Mayor pretending that he didn't hear that? ...read more...

Hot Air Force One strikes on Forest Hill Pools

Hot Air Force One, the flagship misinformation flying machine powered by the hot air spontaneously produced by Lewisham Council's leadership, has carried a full scale attack on Forest Hill Pools in the early evening of Wednesday 5th October.

As the people of Forest Hill were gathered in a School Hall to attend what they thought was a public meeting to openly discuss the future of the pools, in a simultaneous maneuver, the Mayor, two cabinet members, the head of Community services at Lewisham Council and a consultant form Capita started to pump hot air into the craft that was soon airborne.

It soon became clear to all those in the venue that the target of this first strike was primarily the resident's intelligence system.
To leave Forest Hill in the dark about the plans of Lewisham Council would give Option 2 (demolition and rebuilt) a great advantage.

This was only the first strike of an operation that Lewisham Council meticulously planned over the last 6 months and is code-named "Consultation Storm".
It was the first time that Lewisham Council resolved to bring forward a coordinated attack on the pools in almost a decade.
The ruthless efficiency and single-mindedness displayed during the strike should have pleased the commander in chief, but in spite of the mighty power of the Council and the deployment of Hot Air Force One, the operation didn't yield the expected results.
Pockets of resistance are now communicating, sharing information about the Council's known tactics and a counter-attack is expected soon.

Hot Air Force One is still hovering above Forest Hill and dropping 45,000 consultation questionnaires advising the population not to resist the forces of the Lewisham Council/Capita coalition.

Consultation Storm is expected to last almost until the end of November. ...read more...

Council makes pulp out of consultation questionnaires

The leaflets for Forest Hill Pools consultation posted on Lewisham Council website have now been changed.

This is the new version.

This is the old version that was downloadable from the consultation page until 2 days ago (we linked to it in the previous post and that link is now dead).

Tens of thousands of glossy leaflets already printed and ready to be distributed have been considered unworthy of the effort and will now go through the excellent Council's recycling mill.

New leaflets have now been ordered, they will be distributed to Forest Hill residents only after the public meeting with the Mayor scheduled for tomorrow night.

There are some appreciable differences between the two versions.

The refurbishment options forecast cost is now down to £4million.
This is only £100,000 down from the £4.1million quote of the end of last week.

Still a marked £2.5million (62%) increase from last March quote.

The new built option is now forecast at £4.7million.

Up £600,000 from last Friday and £2.2million from last March (47%).

What this new leaflet has more than the old is the list of "advantages and disadvantages".

It makes clear that with the new build option Forest Hill Pools will loose one pool and flexibility of use.

What it doesn't make it clear is where exactly the £4million for the refurbishment would be spent on.
The list of works to be carried under this scheme doesn't make any reference to remedial works to the pool, the plant and the pipeworks.
Is the council planning to spend £4million on redecorating and a new disabled lift from the car-park?

Another question that this questionnaire raises is why the Council is prepared to pay more for the new built than for the refurbishment?

The leaflet also gives some indication of timing for the works:

Refurbishment or redevelopment will take time.
If Option 1 is adopted we would expect work to be completed around April 2008. The pools are likely to be closed for approximately 14 months.
If Option 2 is adopted we would expect work to be completed around June 2008. The pools are likely to be closed for approximately 16 months.

That means that Forest Hill Pools is supposed to close in February 2007 (expected opening of Downham Lifestyles). ...read more...

Forest Hill Pools Consultation

Lewisham Council has finally called for a consultation to be held on the future of Forest Hill Pools.You can download a pdf and see for yourself the two alternatives that the people of Forest Hill are asked to choose from.

Option 1

Retain and refurbish
the existing building

This option will provide the same facilities as are currently available at the pool, but to a slightly higher specification. The centre would comprise two swimming pools at current lengths and widths, a fitness studio, a wet changing area, meeting room and activity room.

There would be improved disabled access via a ramp to automatic front doors as well as a lift to the first floor. As part of the refurbishment, the main pool’s first floor gallery would be removed.

This option would also allow extra parking adjacent to the centre. However, there may be longer term risks of mechanical failure due to underground pipe work which will not be able to be investigated or removed under the refurbishment option.

Approximate cost: £4.1million.

Option 2

Build a brand new swimming facility on the existing site

This option will provide a new single-storey facility built on the current site. The new facility will comprise one 25m six-lane swimming pool with changing facilities that are fully compliant in terms of disabled access and contemporary standards. This option would also allow an additional 20 car parking spaces. It would include a fitness studio, however, there would be no rooms for meetings or other activities.

Approximate cost: £4.1million.

In case anybody forgot what Mayor Bullock said in his Easter message to Lewisham swimmers about the cost of the works only 6 months ago, here's a reminded:

"The report indicates that we can renovate Forest Hill for around £1.5m. This would make the building safe and give it at least 10 years more life. Alternatively we could flatten and build a new facility on the site for about £2.5m which would clearly have much more modern facilities. The report recommends that we consult Forest Hill residents on what they would prefer. Again this will start in June and be reported back in the Autumn."

...read more...

Forest Hill pools consultation farce

On 25th March Steve Bullock sent his message to the swimmers and one of the key topics was the announcement the the Council  would have sought the opinion of the residents of Forest Hill and users of that pool this summer.

The message looked quite straightforward:

The report indicates that we can renovate Forest Hill for around £1.5m. This would make the building safe and give it at least 10 years more life. Alternatively we could flatten and build a new facility on the site for about £2.5m which would clearly have much more modern facilities. The report recommends that we consult Forest Hill residents on what they would prefer. Again this will start in June and be reported back in the Autumn.

Unfortunately, we read on today's Mercury that the plan has taken a different turn.

Instead of consulting the people the Mayor consulted again with the consultancy company Capita.

As for the people of Forest Hill views, here's what he thinks of them:

"We are not asking the public to do the detailed work on the final building.
We are asking them to give us a broad view of what they want on that site.
Then we will have a debate with those people who want the best possible leisure facilities and those who really like the look of the building."

What Steve Bullock is saying is that those that really like the look of the building don't want the best possible leisure facilities.

Now that's cheeky!

The people of Forest Hill and the users of Forest Hill Pools have begged Lewisham Council to face its responsibility and maintain the facility in a usable state for as long as anyone can remember.

The place is in the state it is because of Lewisham Council.
Fortunately, in spite of Lewisham Council's appalling neglect, it survived.

And now Steve Bullock has the courage to insult those that care for their community assets saying that those that value Forest Hill Pools don't want good leisure facilities.

The truth is that without those that fought for the survival of Forest Hill Pools - those that today Steve Bullock is addressing with demeaning language - there woudn't be any swimming pool in Forest Hill today.

Forest Hill Pools is a beautiful Victorian building that, opened in 1885 is the oldest public bath in London.

With a caring Council it would be a jewel in its area.

Unfortunately, just when the Mayor seemed to having finally decided to listen to the concerns of the residents, he then decided to call in the cavalry of consutants from Capita to cover with the noise of their paper horses the cry for help coming from Forest Hill Pools. ...read more...