In response Cllr Philip Peake (Liberal Democrat, Forest Hill ward) commented:

"It is welcome that the Mayor has chosen the option which does the least damage to the future of the site. And I am very pleased that after 35 years of Labour control of Lewisham Council, the neglect of Forest Hill Pools is finally on their radar."

"But the consultant who planned the options which local people were forced to choose between admitted himself that this option may only be a 10 year reprieve on the lifespan of the pools. This is not enough to secure the pools long term future and more effective planning is needed."

"Also, the community site comprises three buildings and it is fatally short sighted to consider one (the Pools) in isolation. Lewisham's own planning strategy for the area highlights the importance of the community site and requests 'enhanced community use'."

Lewisham Liberal Democrat Mayoral Candidate Chris Maines commented:

"Local people are dissatisfied with the options which were put before them, and it's not surprising, considering the huge shortcomings of both. More creative thinking is needed and the community site needs to be thought of as a whole. If the Council was to actually follow its own guidance and plan for enhanced community uses on the site then the revenue from the whole site would be greater and other sources of capital funding may become available."

"If I become the Mayor of Lewisham after May I will want to revisit the consultation and discuss more options for the whole site with local residents with this in mind."

Notes:

1. A report written winter 2004/05 by consultants at Capita claimed that Forest Hill pools was surplus to requirements and recommended them to be closed.

2. After a by-election in which the future of the pools was a major issue, Liberal Democrat Philip Peake won on 17th March 2005.

3. Steve Bullock (Labour Mayor of Lewisham) rejected the closure recomendation at Mayor and Cabinet on 9th April 2005. He announced a open dicussion with the public of Forest Hill to see exactly what sort of facility they wanted on the site.

4. The open discussion with the public was originally scheduled to begin at the end of May and run for three months, but pools campaigners found access to information limited over the summer.

5. An official consultation began in September and ran for six weeks. The public were given a narrow choice between two options: a refurbishment option and a rebuild option. Later released information showed that these were the two cheapest out of 15 options originally suggested by the consultant.

6. Louise House - the building between the Library and the Pools - was boarded up in December. It's future is being considered in the Lewisham Asset Management Strategy which is scheduled to be published in March.

23rd February 2006

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