Consultation was a ‘sham’

Sykes seeks leisure review probe
A FULL examination of the leisure review consultation has been called for by local Lib-Dem leader Howard Sykes.

The Shaw councillor has formally asked Oldham Council’s chairman of overview and scrutiny to carry out an investigation into the consultation and decision to relocate Crompton Pool to Royton.

He says objectors’ comments were ignored and that no detailed site assessment or financial business case was presented to cabinet — and he is now demanding answers.

Councillor Sykes said: “The original public document was so full of holes that Shaw was completely ignored.

“Let’s also not forget that sites in Shaw were only added ‘for consideration’ after the Shaw Baths Action Group kicked up a stink and I had suggested five additional sites.

“This Labour administration should be properly called to account for their decisions and asked to provide appropriate evidence to prove that this has been anything other than the ‘sham’ most people believe it to have been.”

A decision was made to close both Royton Health Centre and Crompton Pool and Fitness Centre — known locally as Shaw baths — after the consultation.

Plans to replace them with one new facility are still in the early stages, with seven of the nine proposed locations in Royton.

In contacting the scrutiny chair, Councillor Sykes is demanding to know on what basis conclusions were drawn and how the review and consultations were conducted.

He argues that “little confidence” is held that the consultation has been, in his words, “genuine”.

He added: “I believe that the people of this borough, in particular those in Royton, Shaw and Crompton, have a right to know how and why decisions have been made.”