Backlog

The public meeting at Backwell School on September 19 expressed strong feelings about the lack of public swimming pools, in the central area of North Somerset.People in Backwell wish to keep 'their' pool, but we all pay, through the community tax, to prop up this inefficient facility. Poor maintenance and lack of investment over many years has resulted in the decline of Backwell pool. North Somerset Council is aware of this through professional surveys that predicted the pool will close in the short to medium term, because of age and condition. In response, the council set up a 'backlog' maintenance scheme to patch up obvious deficiencies. This disregards improvements for customer comfort, and consequently rules out essential marketing prospects, to increase revenue. The central area of North Somerset needs a modern swimming pool to suit the expanding population. This could be a 25-metre pool to supplement sports facilities for the proposed school in Nailsea, or an Olympic size pool, as suggested recently by Councillor Bob Steadman. In any event, as a follow-up to the public meeting and the interest shown, North Somerset Council should, at least, produce a public consultation document of policy, strategy and vision for the future of swimming. Better still, get on with the job of building a modern swimming pool which would benefit the community at large. N A TuckerNailsea Swimming Pool Interest Group