‘This is an important asset to people living in my ward and surrounding areas,’ says Cllr Milton. ‘The Council recognise its importance – why else would they have spent £1.8m on reopening it?

‘But now they plan to knock it down in 2007. The replacement in Lewisham isn’t due to open until 2010. Indeed, they don’t even plan to start building it for a few years yet. Judging by the Council’s recent performance, there may well be long delays.

‘So my constituents won’t be able to pop down the road for a swim. They will have to travel miles if they want to use a leisure centre. They have already had to put up with this for nearly two years. To ask them to do so for another three years or more is adding insult to injury.

‘Many Lewisham residents will have lost trust in the Council over this. Before the elections, the Council were encouraging people to join up as members of the leisure centre. Now they look set to close it.

‘This is all because the Council are determined to put a secondary school in Ladywell, when the demand is greatest in the North of the borough. It’s in New Cross that there is a clamour for a new school. In Lewisham Central, we’d rather keep our leisure centre.’

June 2004

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