Labour councillors back extra funds for new swim facility

8:39am Monday 5th July 2010

By Mark Stead

OPPOSITION councillors in York have performed a U-turn over how a new swimming pool for the city should be funded.

City of York Council’s Labour group originally intended to oppose an extra £1 million of public money being invested in plans to create an eight-lane, 25-metre facility at the University of York’s Heslington East campus extension.

But its members are now set to give “qualified support” to the scheme when the funding issue is discussed by the authority’s executive tomorrow, although they say they also remain committed to the return of a city centre pool. The council agreed to provide £2 million towards the £8.9 million York Sports Village pool in 2007 and is now expected to approve borrowing the additional cash, with the university taking responsibility for running and maintaining the facility during its first 25 years.

Labour’s leisure spokesperson Coun Sonja Crisp said: “We have given this a great deal of consideration and believe it is the only way forward in the current climate, while retaining our full commitment to a city centre pool.

“We are doing the responsible thing in supporting publicly-accessible swimming provision when it is so badly needed.

“The critical factor is that the legal agreement is right and both the university and the council know exactly what to expect over the first 25 years of the pool’s life.”

Labour leader Coun James Alexander met the university’s pro vice-chancellor, Elizabeth Heaps, last week to seek assurances on his party’s concerns about the pool, and Coun Crisp said some of those fears, including disabled toilet provision, public access, pricing and transport, had been allayed.

“We are aware of a campaign by a Heslington resident to improve the conditions of access for the public and we fully support that campaign,” she said.

Campaigner seeks ‘public access’ pledge

A GRADUATE of the University of York is campaigning for cast-iron assurances that any swimming pool built in Heslington will be open to the whole community.

David Levene, 21, has launched a Facebook page and has contacted councillors and university bosses in an attempt to secure public use for the planned facility.

He said: “It would have been great to use such a facility while I was a student. I have launched a campaign to push for the pool and I am seeking greater guarantees from the university over community access.”

Mr Levene, a former Wakefield resident who intends to make his home in York, said he believed community access was “the right thing to do and could make the project more viable”.

His Facebook group, called SOS: Save Our Swimming! Campaign For A Heslington Swimming Pool, has about 50 members.

The former sociology student has written to Elizabeth Heaps, University of York pro vice chancellor for estates, and he showed The Press an email response in which she said the swimming pool had “been planned all along to provide access to the community.”