The BIC swimming pool is due to close forever.

This decision by the Lib Dem Bournemouth Council is against the wishes of the overwhelming majority of Bournemouth residents and visitors. There are no plans for a replacement wet weather facility in central Bournemouth and it is very unlikely that there will ever be funding for another leisure pool on this scale again anyway.

The Conservatives on Bournemouth Council have been against the closure of the pool from the moment the decision was first announced. We believe it to be a very expensive, short sighted and quite unnecessary option when the value of the loss of the pool is properly taken into account and added to the overall cost.

There is little doubt about the need for a fourth hall for the BIC. It makes good commercial sense but
there is a viable alternative available to the loss of the swimming pool so as to provide the new hall.

Given the lack of any real progress over the last year of this new council and the disarray over the Pier, the Pavilion and the Winter Gardens, we believe that the comprehensive scheme for all these venues which the Conservatives were close to finalising last May should be looked at again. It was a properly thought out plan by Councillors and Officers and most importantly it was well on the way to being fully funded, providing best value for the Council tax payers of Bournemouth.

This new and hastily assembled scheme for the BIC is already over budget and is now being cut back despite the loss of the swimming pool. It will now only achieve part of what was originally promised.

The Conservatives believe that these issues go beyond local politics - they are far too important to Bournemouth for that. It is not too late for the Council to change its mind and make full use of the funding available to avoid the huge financial risks which are coming into view. It would mean the sale of the Winter Gardens but it would also mean that the BIC pool could be saved and a new fourth hall built. It would also deliver a secure future for the Pavilion with a comprehensive cultural strategy for the long term. The Pier would also receive the proper investment that it desperately needs for a secure future without the need for further fudge and delay.

Our message to the people of Bournemouth is clear and simple. There is a an affordable and better way of doing these things that will have the support of the residents and visitors to the town and achieve a prosperous future for the BIC, the Pavilion and the Pier. The loss of the BIC pool is not the answer and doesn't need to happen.

The Conservatives plead with this Lib Dem Council to think again before the bulldozers move in and the pool is lost forever.

For further details please contact:-

Cllr John Beesley
Bournemouth Conservatives
on Bournemouth Council

Tel. 01202 762403
Mobile 07860 391219
email john.beesley@bournemouth.gov.uk