Current News :
June 3rd 2008
Work has begun this week on the building of the new Spiceball
Leisure Centre. Land has been cleared on a mound to the East of the
existing sports centre and just across the River Cherwell above the
flood plain. Fears about the contamination of the land which is an old
midden and waste tip seem to have been brushed aside. The existing
Spiceball will continue until the new centre opens but it has become
uninsurable due to being flooded twice in the last three years. The
work is being carried out by Cherwell Leisure Ltd, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Parkwood Project Management Ltd. The designers are
Burke Richards Architects and the construction is the responsiibilty of
Moss Construction. Parkwood is one of the largest commercial leisure
companies in the UK with an annual turnover of £100million and
4000 employees.
June 2nd 2008
Cherwell District Council
Executive committed itself at tonight's meeting to forge ahead with the
refurbishment of the outdoor pool at Woodgreen and other work to improve
facilities in the Leisure Centre. It has pledged to reopen the swimming pool in
June 2009. The agenda of this crucial meeting is at cherwell-dc.gov.uk/meetings
April 17 2008
A meeting was held at CDC headquarters between the elected
representatives of the Woodgreen User Groups and Paul Marston-Weston
the newly aapointed Recreation and Health Officer of CDC. Paul gave a
summarised account of recent decisions by CDC and of the technical
reports about the present condition of the pool that has been closed
and empty for so long. He said that the plant would have to be
replaced and was looking at several alternatives for the relining
of the pool. CDC would be seeking to employ a project manager to see
the work through. He emphasised that the desire of CDC was to enable a
high quality refurbishment that would last for many years. He told the
User Group that their wish to have a new style of management had not
been fully examined but that the Council was opting for a scheme by
which Woodgreen would be managed by the incoming contractors at
Spiceball. However no final decision had been made and our impression
was that the matter had not yet been discussed with the incoming
commercial contractors at Spiceball.
Members of the User Group welcomed the news about the care and concern
being taken in refurbishing Woodgreen but stressed their concern about
the attention that would be given to it by a giant commercial
contractor like Parkwood to whom Woodgreen would be a minnow. As a
result it would miss out on many possibilities of funding, attracting
community involvement, sponsoring and in volunteering.
November 5 2007
CDC Executive agreed to the earlier proposals to re-open the
open air pool and allocated the funds necessary for a quality
refurbishment that would give it a long working life.
October 16 2007.
As a result of the report and recommendations of the
Overview and Scrutiny Committee, the Environment and Community
Committee moved to recommend that the principle of the re-openiong of
Woodgreen open air pool and refurbishment of the Woodgreen Leisure
Centre is sound and should be progressed.
August 9th 2007
At 1930 hours Andy Dancer
the chairman of the Woodgreen Users Group(WUG) and Derrick Knight, convenor of
WUG and the Open Air Pool Supporters Group met with tthe
CDC Scrutiny Working Party.This cross-party group of councillors aided by
various officers of the Council has been set in motion by Cherwell District
Council Executive Committee to weigh up the evidence and advise it of the best
solution for the future of the open air pool and the adjacent leisure
centre.They have already met Paddy Castledine who wishes to lead a new
management initiative with the backing of the User Groups. Meanwhile the CDC
panel has been asked to propose a draft report by September 7th this year and
still have an ambitious schedule of places to visit, people to see a public
opinion survey to send out and collate on its return.. One of the ironies of the situation is that the recent
flood poured into Spiceball Leisure Centre which is built on the flood plain. It
was badly damaged. CD Leisure which manages it on behalf of Cherwell District
Council have had to up camp and maintain what health courses and services they
can at Woodgreen. The losses entailed may affect Council Budgets. Nevertheless
the Scrutineers have been asked to provide a clear recommendation to the
Executive in early October for the future of the open air pool and the dryside
facilities at Woodgreen.
Andy Dancer was able to explain that the Woodgreen complex needs to
have a very different style to Spiceball. Spiceball is like a factory-
pay your money, process through your activity and out theother side.
Woodgreen needed a friendly club/community atmosphere that welcomes
people as individuals. You don't get that from a large sports company.
He also elaboratd on possible ways of putting a dynamic entrepreneurial
management team in place. Whatever the CDC's final decision our chairman stressed that the User Group would continue as a Friends of Woodgreen body whose advice and help should be valued.
August 9th
2007
A letter in the Banbury Guardian today from Graham Coleman of
Glamis Place, Banbury deserves mention for its wit, timeliness and brevity:
"
The recent warm spell has me wondering.
Is Banbury the only town in
Britain or perhaps the world with two swimming pools - an outdoor pool with no
water and an indoor pool that is flooded?"uly 1st 2007
The Cherwell scrutineers will
meet Mr Paddy Castledine, the former manager of Brockwell Park Lido in Lambeth
on July 31st to hear his proposals for the future of Woodgreen which have wide
community backing.
At the June 15th meeting between Paddy Castlemine and
the Woodgreen User Groups he was given its full support for a practical plan to
re-=open the pool and stimulate other community activities around the site.
July 1st 2007
Cherwell
District Council has launched a scrutiny committee of non-executive councillors
to consider all available information and community evidence relating to the
Woodgreen Pool and Leisure Centre and
1. prepare a recommendation for its
future management to the CDC Executive by the end of September which is to be a
positive document offering a practical way forward.
2. meet with all
interested parties either users or technical experts and managers from other
successful lidos and sports organisations together with the representatives of
the clubs and local community groups who have been campaigning to re-open the
pool.
June 15 2007 Meeting with Paddy
Castledine former manager of Brockwell Park Lido in Lambeth.
On June
7th the Woodgreen Users Goup welcomed Paddy Castledine, the fabled sports
manager who rescued the derelict 1930s open air swimming pool in Lambeth's
Brockwell Park 14 years ago. He then successfully persuaded Lambeth to give him
and his team control over the lido which they had written off. With his
enthusiasm and savvy in a few years he and his colleagues together with local
community efforts and sponsorship had turned it into the 'jewel in the crown' of
Lambeth's recreational activities. It has retained this label ever
since.
A meeting in Banbury Town Hall of the current reps of all the
Woodgreen users together with a scattering of interested councillors and this
year's Lord Mayor( incognito) heard Paddy speak of his own experiences in
rebuilding Brockwell and how those lessons might be applied in our case. Even
more importantly he made it clear that he was keen to get involved in our own
campaign and with our help bid for the pool and its dryside
possibilities.
Chance has been working for us. As it happens, a big
health and leisure club that has underpinned the growth of the Brockwell Park
Lido has offered to buy it out as a 'going concern' to develop wider health
interests. At the same time Paddy and his wife, a banker at Couts and Co, had
begun to look for a house in the Banbury area where she had been asked to
develop a new client base. When Derrick Knight phoned him to seek some advice,
he was surprised and delighted by Paddy's excitement that Woodgreen might offer
him a new and worthwhile challenge.
What he said to us in his
presentation and Q and A session sounded possible, practical and full of wisdom.
He has looked at the pool and its surroundings and said that it was nothing like
as bad as the bones of Brockwell Park Lido when he first examined it. He
enthused at what could be a great community meeting point and leisure opprtunity
for families and young people. He stressed the need to cross-fertilise the pool
with other activities open all the year round. He has asked to meet with
Cherwell Leisure officials and councillors who are responsible for its future.
At a committee meeting after Paddy's presentation, his efforts and ideas were
enthusiastically backed. They offered real practical hope.
In the
meantime CDC has appointed a scrutiny committee delegated to reach a 'positive'
solution to the future of Woodgreen. We are expecting to meet its members very
soon. Our chairman Andy Dancer is keeping close touch with CDC. As reported
previously CDC has ring fenced £750,000 towards refurbishment and a further
£50,000 has been voted by by Banbury Town Council to offset possible income
losses on the pool. With goodwill it is now possible that we may have a new
organisation in place for next summer season
Some websites worth
visiting.
For Brockwell Park news and
background
www.porism.com/blu/blumain.html
For general lido news around the
UK
lidos@yahoogroups.co.uk
and
poolingresources@yahoogroups.com
February 28 2007 Breakthrough!
Breakthrough!
We have a very important breakthrough. CDC Executive
last week voted to re-instate the rebirth of the Woodgreen Pool in CDC's agenda.
February 26th CDC's Budget committee voted an extra £250,000 for the repair and
refurbishment of the Open Air Pool on top of the £500,000 promised last year. A
working party is being formed to propel the new initiative forward.
We as
campaigners are of course delighted. We have already started to organise a
Users Group of all the wet and dry side users of the Leisure Centre and will be
meeting on March 15th to take that forward.
February 13 2007.
Last night Cherwell
District Council (CDC) finally agreed on where the new Spiceball Leisure Centre
is to be built and who will manage it. They agreed that the new centre would be
built on a mound to the north of the current building and raised above the flood
plain. While building is going on, the present Spiceball will continue to
function. Construction work will probably begin in early 2008 and last some 18
months. The company that will build and run the new centre is the Cherwell
Leisure Ltd, a consortium of companies -architects, builders, engineers and
sports managers that will see the project through to completion. Parkwood
Leisure will replace DC Leisure the present managers of Spiceball. Parkwood is a
large Leisure Management Company with interests spread right across the West
Country.
CDC have made no decision yet about the future of Woodgreen
Open Air Pool nor allocated funds but it did promise £500,000 for refurbishment
last March. Recently the Banbury Town Council has voted £50,000 a year as a
grant towards running costs of a re-opened pool. One of the obstacles to
Cherwell being prepared to enter into a new era of lido management has been the
fear of yearly losses. We in the Support Group have never thought this likely
with good management and hotter summers that are forecast. CDC promise to decide
on Woodgreen's future within the next two months.
A full account of the
plans for Spiceball can be seen on Cherwell's website -
cherwell-dc.gov.uk
December 17 2006.
Message from Broomhillsaved campaign.
"The BBC Action Network has been
set up particularly with community interests and campaigning in mind. Anyone can
write articles, set up a campaign or put a community notice on the Notice board.
You are required to set up an account first( this is free) and you do have
responsibility for your own words.
The BBC use this as a resource too, when
you want to focus on community efforts.
Campaign for your local swimming
pool/lido/playing fields etc and reach potentially a very wide audience"
So
Cherwell residents get cracking. Publish your views. This website has been read
in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Poland and the USSR amongst others. If you
want me to do it, send me your piece or opinion. I will pass it on. (Derrick
Knight at derrick29@btinternet.com)
October 18 2006. BBC Radio news item.
It
contained this advice to swimmers.
'If you have news about your local lido do
e-mail local radio and regional TV stations; once a story has been covered they
will often re-visit it as an on-going or serial topic. Furthermore news items
are archived and can be brought out again at a future time, which can be very
strengthening to a campaign. You also build up an internet presence.
The BBC
Action Network enables any group or individual to write about their campaign as
long as you are willing to put your name to it, and because it is part of the BBC
it will come up first if people 'search' for news of what you are
doing.
.
October 1st 2006
The Victorian Society
report on their June conference in London 'Making a Splash' which is reported
below is available
at www.victoriansociety.org.uk/downloads/Making a Splash
Report.pdf
The conference resulted in a call for a national pools
federation and Jackie Spreckley of 'Played in Britain' has offered to host an
interim network until a formal body is set up. Of course there exists an
energetic and up to the minute lido news network at lidos@yahoogroups.co.uk Nothing seems to
escape its members from changed opening times of local pools from Cornwell to
Aberdeen or to the crocodile tears shed by government ministers about the
neglect of swimming as a sport.
August 31st News item.
Big article
'LIDOS ARE BACK WITH A SPLASH' in
Financial Times 'Arts and Weekend August 26 2006.
A must for us
optimists.
Get it at --
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/010ba43c-3416-11db-bf9a-0000779e2340.html
Making a Splash Conference at the University of London
Union June 24 2006.
The Victorian Society has organised a conference
to bring together pool campaigners for the first time to share their
experiences, publicize their campaigns and to hear from heritage professionals
and fellow campaigners about the issues involved. This is further evidence of
the rising tide of concern and action about open air swimming facilities. The
chair of the Banbury Open Air Pool Group Glyn Tiller and Press Officer Derrick
Knight will attend and report back.
May
8th 2006
A spokesperson for Banbury Town Council said that the new
version of the feasibility study about the future of Woodgreen Leisure Centre
and Pool commissioned by BTC and CDC was expected to be delivered by May
30th
April 24th 2006.
Amateur Swimming Association.
The Amateur Swimming Association is
pioneering a campaign called Everyday Swim with support from the
government and Sport England. It aims to get people into the water whatever
their start point and keep them there. It is looking to change the way in which
local organisations and councils perceive their obligations to provide swimming
facilities. Details can be found on the ASA’s website
http/www.britishawimming.org/ March 25th 2006. Played in Britain
Conference.
Played in Britain is a
collaboration between English Heritage and Malavan Media, a research, publishing
and events consultancy based in London. On March 16th this year they
organised a one day conference on the future of Britain’s lidos and open air
swimming pools. Derrick Knight on behalf of the Banbury Pool Campaign attended
and took part.
His short
report can be found on the background page.
March 16th 2006. Conference in City of
London
Reviving Lidos – the
future of Britain’s lidos and open air swimming pools, organised by Played in
Britain and Pollard, Thomas, Edwards architects.
Case histories, exposes on funding,
campaigning, design etc. Group discussions led to demand for a national users
organisation and for a follow up seminar.
May 9th
2006
A meeting of the independent users of Woodgreen Leisure Centre
hosted by the Open Air Pool campaigners brought together nine clubs and
representatives of the local Asian community. Local councillors John Colegrave
and Kieron Mallon attended as did Neithrop Ward's newly elected District
Councillor Mr Alyas Ahmed. There were presentations by Andy Dancer from Cherwell
Canoeists, Derrick Knight of the Banbury Pool Campaign and Brian Auld of
Brethertons, Solicitors on the opportunities of forming a community benefit
company. The meeting was chaired by Councillor George Parish. Local press and
Radio journalists were in attendance. It was too late for local weeklies to make
reports but BBC Radio Oxford, Banbury's own Touch FM and Central News covered
the meeting in their daily bulletins.