It is vitally important that those taking part in the consultation over York Barbican Centre realise the consequences of voting for a community pool as opposed to a county pool. The county design keeps a training pool, as at present. The community pool provides a "splash pool". One only needs to look at timetables for the Barbican during the last few years to see that both pools have full timetables.

The answer is simple. A county pool allows the present programmes to continue in the future.

A community pool will either result in reduced provision of swimming for all or the reduction in special sessions, including school swimming.

In a city with two rivers can we really take this risk?

I hope that the swimmers at Yearsley realise how they are being used in this "new" consultation to ensure high-density housing is the winner on the Barbican site.

Tracey Simpson-Laing,

Opposition Spokesperson for

Planning and Transport,

City of York Council,

Leeman Road,

York.

...SO many councillors and officials have been writing to the letters page recently. Can it be they actually read our thoughts and suggestions?

Councillor Alan Jones' letter 'Wider pools debate', (July 31) criticises the Save Our Swim campaigners and insults Fiona Evans and those of us who constantly wrote and demonstrated SOS when we heard - without any discussion - that first the Barbican and then other pools had to close.

We have always made it clear through letters and council meetings that we favour at least one full-size pool.

Fiona and others brave enough to speak out have only ever wanted to keep good quality swimming, at an affordable price, in York.

Only when the Labour council realised it was of such local concern did they join in.

It's unwise to score political points by way of the letters page - we can see it for what it is.

Pamela Egan,

North Lane,

Malton Road,

York.

Updated: 11:03 Friday, August 08, 2003