Possibility of a New Pool
Why can’t the Council use the funds from the sale of surplus land to a build and operate a new pool?
Any income arising from sale of surplus land would be used by the Council to help deliver its priorities as set out in its Corporate Plan. Building and operating a new pool does not feature as a priority area.
Developers (who may well be Housing Associations as well as private developers) will also need to provide a mix of affordable housing and social care provision that the town needs.
Why can’t the new school proposals incorporate a swimming pool?
Firstly, the cost of construction would absorb a significant part of the budget that we are trying to assemble to provide a new school and so this would mean that something else would have to be left out of the proposals, as the overall amount of funds is limited. Secondly, pools of any size are expensive to operate because of the high requirements for pool supervision and management, the rising cost of energy needed to provide appropriate levels of heating, and the need to maintain specialist plant and equipment.
To give you some indication of typical costs we’ve looked at the operating costs of over 70 swimming pools across the UK, and the average cost per m2 for running a swimming pool in 2005/06 was between £190 and £235 per m2. Most pools are situated in buildings of around 1100 to 1500m2.
Torfaen has stated they would assist Blaenavon councillors in any investigation of the feasibility of a Trust option. Why, then did the Leader dismiss it out of hand at a meeting with some of Blaenavon’s town councillors? What is the point of a feasibility study without co-operation and sufficient time to carry the study out before demolition of the pool?
The original offer of support from the Leader was in respect of helping to fund the provision of a consultant to investigate if a Trust option around a new, more economical pool, on a new site was feasible. The subsequent meeting with the Town Council addressed the issue of the Council financially supporting the continuing operation of the existing pool. This is an entirely different proposition and is not consistent with the Council’s approach.