I MUST confess to laughing when I read the diatribe that emanates from City of York Council on a regular basis over who is to blame for the loss of the Barbican swimming pool and the current delays: that is, an allegedly small group of protesters.

Intelligent and concerned readers of your paper will easily see through the false statements and empty promises the council has made and continues to make in the hope of diverting attention from the facts, particularly over something as sensitive as York's pools, not to mention calming down potential unrest in the community when the election is only around the corner.

From the start, the Save Our Barbican Campaign has fought to retain our sport and leisure facilities on the Barbican site.

One early campaign effort delivered a petition to the council asking for the Barbican to remain open and to retain facilities on the site. This was signed by well over 6,000 residents in the space of a few weeks.

Whatever avenue the council chooses to take over the Barbican, and no matter what terms Steve Galloway chooses to describe the current situation, councillors know that, like the rest of us, they are not above the law.

If individuals choose to exercise their democratic right to fight the council through the courts on what is, at the very least, a gross disregard for residents' wishes, then so be it.

The Barbican issue is not about a small group of protesters. It is about a community asset of which the council wants to dispose.

It is about residents' quality of life, city centre sport and leisure facilities for the whole community, swimming lessons for our school children, facilities for the here and now, the young and old, and for future generations.

Maria Dodd, Barbican Road, York.