13 March 2015
Dear Cllr Gribble,
Re: Buckfastleigh Swimming Pool
Following the Town Council meeting held on 11 March 2015 please be advised that Buckfastleigh Town Council is dismayed and disappointed by the recent actions of Teignbridge District Council with regards to the transfer of the swimming pool to the Friends of Buckfastleigh Swimming Pool trustees. For several years the Town Council and community have actively been encouraged by the District Council to take over this asset and the process commenced in August 2014 with a view to this successfully being achieved for the 2015 season.
Whilst we appreciate that due process has to be adhered to, as this is effectively a property transfer, the pool committee and trustees now have everything in place that is required for a smooth transaction only to be advised seven months later that the process, which may we remind you was initiated by the District Council, that the date of transfer date of Wednesday 1 April 2015 is now not feasible.
Members should be particularly aware that the Friends Group have successfully been awarded a grant of £75,000 from Sport England which would not only cover the cost of all the outstanding repairs which are urgently required to make the pool fit for purpose, but would also allow the opportunity for a programme of refurbishment which would ultimately secure the future of the pool. This grant however, was awarded on the condition that the transfer took place on the above deadline date and will be withdrawn accordingly upon failure to comply.
Buckfastleigh has suffered from some particularly harsh spending cuts in recent years and the opportunity of regenerating the pool which has followed the success of the 2012 London Olympics, had for the first time generated an air of optimism in the town. The Town Council is also actively pursuing a new skate park as a replacement for the one which was partially demolished by the District Council in 2014 without any consultation with the Council or community. The property transfer would include not only the pool, but also Victoria Park which incorporates the skate park, a children’s play area and the Bungalow Youth Project which has also been under threat of closure for many years. There is now the potential for this area to be revivalist as a community hub for leisure activities particularly for the younger members of our community who form almost one third of the towns’ population which is surely in accordance with the purpose of the 2011 Localism Act.
It is unlikely that if the Sport England funding is withdrawn that they would look favourably at any future application and we are aware that the District Council is only in a position to continue to fund the pool for a limited period of time. Surely this is now an excellent opportunity for the Council to
demonstrate not only their co-operation with the community, but to fulfill their obligation to continue to reduce public sector spending?
We would therefore strongly urge Members to address this situation as a matter of urgency and investigate why this process has taken so long?
Yours sincerely,
Judith M. Hart
Clerk to the Council
Cc Mel Stride MP
Councillor C. Dennis
Councillor S. Barker
N. Bulbeck, Chief Executive, Teignbridge District Council
P. Barrett, Chairman of the Friends of Buckfastleigh Swimming Pool