Agenda item

Mr K Medlock to present a petition on behalf of 1273 signatories regarding the closure of Sawtry Swimming Pool. The Petition Statement is as follows –

“Sawtry are losing their swimming pool at the end of 2022, swimming is a life essential for everyone, but especially our children. They will now be expected to travel to either Huntingdon or Peterborough. We are asking for Huntingdon District Council to use some of the council tax we pay to subsidise the running costs of the pool.”

[Presentation of Petition – 5 Minutes

Questions to Petitioner – 5 Minutes

Ensuing Debate – No longer than 15 Minutes].

(Refer to Minute No. 42 for Members’ Interests)

The Vice-Chair invited Mr K Medlock to present a petition submitted on behalf of 1273 signatories regarding the closure of Sawtry Swimming Pool.

The Petition Statement was as follows –

“Sawtry are losing their swimming pool at the end of 2022, swimming is a life essential for everyone, but especially our children. They will now be expected to travel to either Huntingdon or Peterborough. We are asking for Huntingdon District Council to use some of the council tax we pay to subsidise the running costs of the pool.”

Mr Medlock opened his address by referring to the Meridian Trust with overall responsibility for the site but indicated that he felt that the District Council had some responsibility in the position that they were now being faced with. He explained that the petition had been presented to the District Council as Meridian Trust would not engage with the residents of Sawtry in the hope that an open meeting could be held with the Parish Council but had been refused and the District Council had been responsible for giving away their leisure facility, including the pool.

Attention was drawn to the fact that Meridian Trust had sub-contracted the facility to Stevenage Leisure until Covid had hit and money had been spent on updating some of the facility, but attention had not been focussed on urgent items such as the pump room servicing and possible renewable energy options. Mr Medlock outlined suggested costs of servicing the pump room, installation of solar panels and a solar thermal air sourcing heating option under a spend to save heating options could have all been explored to enable the longevity of the facility and not influenced by the energy crisis affecting everyone.

Mr Medlock referred to the expenditure of £2.6m by the Council on the facility since 1992 and a further £80k provided when it was transferred to the Trust. It was understood that the plant room had not been maintained, resulting in operational implications. He further referred to swimming being one of life’s essential skills and drew Members’ attention to the Department for Education’s stipulation that it should form part of the school curriculum for every Primary School child. He outlined his concerns with families without access to a car and the declining public transport service that served the village accessing other swimming pool facilities in Huntingdon or Ramsey.

In concluding, Mr Medlock urged the Council to take-back the leisure facility, or consider taking back and sub-contracting to a provider with the expertise of running such a facility with pools.

The Executive Leader, Councillor S J Conboy, raised a question regarding how many times he had approached the Trust for a meeting and in response he explained that he had emailed Sawtry Parish Council to organise an open meeting and they had responded by explaining that they had refused.

Councillor S Bywater referred to the difficulties that closure of the pool would have on the residents of Sawtry and surrounding villages, particularly with an expanding population in the village, and the fact that the District Council had invested £629k in this facility since 1993. He reminded Members of the history of the transfer of the facility in 2019 that was deemed the best option for the Council to save the leisure facility. He further outlined his concerns for accessing facilities elsewhere for families with no access to transport and concern for people accessing safe areas to learn to swim. He urged the Joint Administration to revisit this issue and decide how to support the residents of Sawtry and surrounding villages and how they would interact with Meridian Trust to keep the pool open, with a view to taking this forward in the Spring.

Councillor R Martin referred to over 1400 signatures that had supported the petition to encourage the retention of such a facility and the importance of such a facility in teaching children to swim. Attention was drawn again to the capital expenditure used to build the facility initially that would be disappointing for the District Council to write-off. As former Chairman of Sawtry Parish Council, he explained that he personally had reached out to Merdian Trust for a meeting but they would not engage with the Parish Council, nor residents. Councillor Martin urged the Administration to put pressure where possible to save the swimming pool, or at least work in the Spring to re-open the pool.

Councillor T D Alban referred to impact of closure on the residents in the Stilton, Folkworth and Washingley Ward, as well as the economic impact of not visiting the leisure centre and village, as well as surrounding villages, as residents travelling to use Peterborough facilities may impact on the loss of extra money being spent in the Huntingdonshire economy.

In conclusion and in responding to the points and questions raised by Mr Medlock and Councillors, the Executive Leader appreciated the passion and commitment of those that participated in the debate, as well as those that had signed the petition. She noted the desire to have met with the Trust and was disappointed that this had not been met with an offer. The Executive Leader undertook to facilitate such a meeting with the Trust, initially a private discussion, before facilitating a public meeting, with a view to understanding the challenges that the Trust have been facing and what the options there are as it remains their asset.