We demand an investigation into the conduct of a number of Portsmouth City councillors and the rebuilding of the pool at the Eastney site.

Some councillors lied, manipulated figures, gave illegal deputations etc.

These actions help lead to the approval for the planning permission for the £23.4 million Bransbury Park project, losing six sports courts, green space and trees and led to the demolition of the historic Royal Marines Eastney swimming pool.

The councillors have chosen to ignore the clear majority with 2500 people signing a petition to save Eastney swimming pool.

The council repeatedly state that the majority of residents support the Bransbury Park alternative to Eastney pool but they have failed to produce credible evidence to support their claim.

The councillors used an unofficial survey with one question regarding the plans, as evidence of public support at the planning meeting, i.e. 133 people in favour. 

Even a Freedom of Information (FOI) request couldn’t reveal who carried out the survey and on which dates. 

All the accusations of lies, misinformation, illegal deputations etc below, are supported by documentation such as Freedom of Information requests, (FOI), screenshots of statements, emails, videos etc.

Proven lies:

Cllr Vernon-Jackson stated they had secured a £2 million grant from Sport England for the Bransbury Park centre. This was not true.

FOI, Sport England stated that not only have they not issued a grant there had not been any communication between Sport England and Portsmouth City Council.

Later, having already stated they had secured the grant, Cllr Vernon-Jackson stated they hadn’t secured the grant because the application criteria had changed and they no longer met the criteria.

Meanwhile, Cllr Pitt stated they had been offered the grant but turned it down because Sport England demanded the existing community centre be demolished and included in the new plans and this was unacceptable. This was not true.

(FOI), Sport England stated no grant was offered and they did not demand the community centre to be demolished.

When a member of the Keep Milton Green FB group posted that they PCC had stated that they had secured the £2 million grant from Sport England and it wasn’t true, Cllr Pitt stated, “That’s not correct at all. We have always said that we would apply”. This was not true.

PCC had already stated they had secured the grant.

Cllr Pitt stated that the Bransbury Park centre plans never had two sports courts, the architects who drew up the plans added a two sports courts hall because they have a propensity to add what they like. This was not true, the two sports courts were always part of the plans

At the same time, Mr Moorman, Strategic development manager, Sports and Leisure, for the Portsmouth council, stated the two sports courts had to be removed from the plans due to the costs.

Cllr Pitt stated on Solent radio that the cost of building the Bransbury Park centre is the same as the cost of rebuilding Eastney swimming pool, “obviously”. This is not true.

The council’s own report costed the building of the Bransbury Park centre in 2020 at £12.2 million while it costed the refurbishing of Eastney swimming pool at £5.5 million.

Cllr Pitt stated that Eastney swimming pool was never an option. This is not true.

Cllr Pitt repeatedly stated that Eastney swimming pool was an option.

Misconduct:

Cllr Lee Hunt, chair of the meeting at which Eastney swimming pool was condemned to demolition, stated his role was to assess the evidence and deputations given in the meeting, for and against saving Eastney swimming pool and come to a decision on its future.

Cllr Lee Hunt went on to read out a prewritten conclusion, stating that Eastney swimming pool should be demolished.

Since the conclusion was predetermined, the meeting was a pretence at democracy.

Cllr Lee Hunt stated that he would not take into account the petition with over 2500 signatures supporting Eastney pool being saved, because he didn’t know about it.

This despite the petition and its level support being read out in a deputation during the meeting.

Further, Cllr Hunt stated he spoke with planning about the petition the day before, the petition he said he knew nothing about.

Therefore, Cllr Hunt did know of the petition before he supposedly came to his conclusion.

Cllr hunt also stated that he had visited the Eastney Pool Redevelopment’s site on numerous occasions, the petition is at the top of the home page.

It later transpired that all or at least part of the prewritten conclusion was written by Cllr Pitt.

The deputation by Cllr Pitt was not declared and was therefore in clear breach of the rules.

The level of support presented to the planning meeting for the Bransbury Park centre on 6th December 2024, was derived from a survey carried out a mile from the proposed site, by unknown people on an unknown date, according to a FOI request.

The person who collected the information and presented it to planning committee did not declare themselves.

Therefore, this was an illegal deputation.

Unfounded comments:

Cllr Vernon-Jackson stated there is no public transport to Eastney swimming pool.

Despite Eastney swimming pool’s bus stops being nearer than the bus stops of other sports facilities including the Mountbatten Centre and Hilsea Lido.

Cllr Pitt stated that the Devonshire Ave GP surgery might move out of the area if we don’t build the new leisure centre with a surgery for them. 

No evidence was produced to support this comment and the surgery wasn’t even in the first two plans for Bransbury Park leisure centre.

Cllr Vernon-Jackson stated that Devonshire Ave GP surgery was not fit for purpose and was in fact dangerous with a risk of serious injury. Which is why the council needs to build them a new surgery. 

The replacement surgery won’t be opened for approximately two years but the council appear happy for the surgery to continue with their GP practice, in a building that is not fit for purpose and with a risk of serious injury.

If the council know the surgery is not fit for purpose with a risk of serious injury, they should report it to the relevant authorities.

Cllr Vernon-Jackson stated in the planning meeting that the pollution levels for relocated playground are very low.

From a FOI request, no survey or testing was carried out in that location.

Cllr Pitt stated that the Cockleshell heroes didn’t carry out the vital training for their mission to plant underwater explosives on WW2 German ships, in the Royal Marine’s Eastney deep swimming pool but rather in an approximately two and half foot deep, muddy bottom boating lake.

When challenged, no evidence to back this claim was produced.

In conclusion, there needs to be a review / enquiry into the councillor's conduct and the decision to demolish the historic Royal Marine’s Eastney swimming pool.

Further information and the evidence can be found on the Facebook group, Eastney Pool Redevelopment.

 

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