Fresh from closing the Pyramids pool without any public debate, Portsmouth City Council now wants to flatten the Eastney Swimming Pool and the Wimbledon Park Sports Centre to build yet more flats. They claim they’ll then build a new leisure centre on Bransbury Park, but can we believe it?

The council is on course to spend most of its reserves this year. The Pyramids closed because the council said it cannot afford the running costs of a pool. Where is the money coming from then?

Once these facilities are gone, they are gone. Any warm words about a new leisure centre can then be quietly forgotten. We cannot let that happen. Sign this petition to demand that nothing happens to the existing buildings until a replacement is built – and not just talked about.

We therefore call on Portsmouth City Council to:

Keep Eastney Swimming Baths and Wimbledon Park Sports Centre open in full until a replacement sports centre is built

Yes, the council may get some money from Sport England, but even if they do it will only be a fraction of what is needed and it definitely wouldn't not cover the rebuilding of the existing community centre or a car park. A new leisure centre would of course be good, but we all know that the council has bluffed us before.