THERE will be no replacement outdoor pool, no refund to the townspeople who paid for it, and the former site is likely to be built on.
That was the response of Cllr Chris Over, Daventry District Council’s economic and regeneration portfolio holder, to questions asked by Daventry Town Council and the Swimming Pool Association over the future of the former outdoor pool site in Chaucer Way.
Last week the town council wrote to Daventry District Council (DDC) asking if there would be a replacement for the old outdoor pool and if not would DDC reimburse the people who paid for it the estimated current value of £2 million.
The town council also asked if the former site would remain as public open space.
The pool was filled in and the buildings demolished at the beginning of last year by DDC after the Government Office For The East Midlands (GOEM) decided not to examine the planning application on the basis that the site would remain as open public space. At the moment it is fenced off and inaccessible to the public.
Cllr Over said: “The district council is not going to provide a new indoor or outdoor pool as has previously been suggested.
“The current leisure facilities meet the needs of the community at this time, but there will be reviews as the town grows to make sure that remains the case.
“It is my understanding that there will not be a ‘reimbursement’ based on the current value of the former buildings or the land.
“The Chaucer Way site is being considered for a temporary car park, but in the long term the land will be used for the benefit of the community.
“It think it’s unlikely it will remain as open space, but would be put to good use as there are plans for new leisure and cultural facilities.”
In the past DDC has said it planned to expand the existing Chaucer Way car park over the old Outdoor Pool site to create an additional 240 spaces as a temporary measure while other car parks in the town are redeveloped.
In the longer term DDC’s own masterplan for the town’s growth indicates the outdoor pool land would be used for retail units, associated parking, and part of the marina project
... but ... but ... I thought the podcars that the DDC proposed last year were supposed to make cars and parking lots obsolete?
I remember when the PRT promoter Gary Dean Zimmermann voted to demolish two homes in my neighborhood for a parking lot (the demolition began on Earth Day). Like Zimmermann, The Daventry District Council peddles PRT-pie-in-the -the-sky-by-and-by while doing nothing about the pollution, inequity and land-use problems associated with automobile-centric urban planning.
The town council’s questions were prompted by Bob Waldock, from Daventry Swimming Pool Association, who asked the authority to find out DDC’s current plans.
Mr Waldock said: “What we want is what we’ve said all along – a brand new facility. We’re going to get a brand new town, so why can’t we get this brand new facility?
“In the short-term all the district council has to do is mow around the site and put some benches in to make it into a recreation site again.
“What we want in the long-term is for the site to remain as recreational use, and ideally for a new facility to be built so that children can learn how to swim in a safe environment before the marina and canal get built.”
Yet another example of the Personal Rapid Transit public relations gimmick used to mask the true intentions of people who want to privatize, build on and pave over everything.
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