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Leisure review ‘full of holes’
Reporter: Helen Korn and Erin Heywood
Date online: 02 February 2012
THE Labour party has been blasted in ldham Council for a leisure review the opposition claims is “full of holes.”
Lib-Dem leader Councillor Howard Sykes argued he suggested three valid sites in Shaw for the proposed new facilities — but insists they were never considered.
He told council leader Jim McMahon: “Only one site was considered in Shaw, which any fool would know was not suitable.”
Labour’s Councillor Hugh McDonald insisted that everything had been considered in a “comprehensive” consultation.
In answer to a public question, he said there had been 1,084 responses to the consultation — 778 from Shaw and Crompton residents, 19 from Royton.
Labour was accused of deciding on the location for the replacement Crompton pool in private and that the recent consultation was simply “window dressing.”
Another member of the public asked why, before the public consultation and responses were received, the leisure review leaflet announced that the new facility was to be in Royton.
But Councillor McDonald insisted six sites in Shaw and seven in Royton had been considered.
Councillor Mohammed Masud (Lib-Dem) added that the council had ignored 75 per cent of people who opposed the closure of Glodwick pool. Councillor McDonald said that pool would close because of the high cost of refurbishing it.
Comments
It's the height of hypocrisy hearing Sykes and his LibDems whinging about being ignored, consultation being a sham and ignoring the overwhelming majority of the people surveyed.
That would be exactly like happened to the people of Waterhead regarding the unwanted academy. Sham consultations, ignoring the people and overwhelming opposition. Maybe Labour learned from you Howard?
BTW, when will the contamination and traffic studies be done at waterhead on which planning permission was dependent?
Again figures showing people responding to the consultation put in the Oldham Chronicle,Royton people are not going to respond in great numbers if they belive they are going to get a new swimming facilty in Royton
Another 'non-sultation' from Lie-bour. No imagination, no commitment to the people of Oldham. Why didn't they include the QE Hall and the Coliseum in their thinking about the borough's leisure facilities? Why nothing about a town-centre mult-plex cinema? I swear, this bunch are as bad as the last lot. I bet we've paid '000s of £££ to consultants and council officials to run this nonsense. The borough will still look like a windswept Eastern European dormitory town at the end of it all.
Have Your Say
I think some one need to ask the cost of the refurbishment for these pools and the set cost of building new facilities, if its like previous project undertaken by Labour (regional fire centres )the cost will just spiral out of control with no questions asked. Like most business you must fix a budget that will not be changed but I bet it’s not been done and won’t be done.
By Barros @ 02/02/2012 16:07:59