Thank you to everyone for continuing to spread the word about this petition and for sharing the determination to ensure that Kingston residents have full access to at least the same number of swimming pools and other community facilities as exist now.

In terms of swimming pools, the Borough has only two 25 metre public pools, which will reduce to one 25 metre pool if The Kingfisher is demolished

Please keep sharing the petition as widely as possible. The more people who sign the petition, the more likely it will be picked up by the press

Here are some rather sombre facts that support our call that The Kingfisher must not be demolished:

According the The National Water Safety Forum, the July heatwave saw almost double the daily average of accidental deaths from drowning that would be expected in a normal year 

Thirty four people lost their lives in an accidental drowning incident during that period

In an article in i-news, Dawn Whittaker, Chair of the National Water Safety Forum, is quoted as relating the increase in deaths, amongst other things, to there being "no swimming lessons and pools shut":

“These deaths are a combination of lots of things: breaking up from school, hot weather, lockdown release.

“There have been no swimming lessons or safety events for the past year and with gyms and pools shut, a lot of inexperienced swimmers have just taken to water without analysing the risks."

In addition, Swim England, the body that promotes swimming in England, has said that only 4% of children between 7 and 11 years old can swim well enough that they can be confident of being safe in water.

As a riverside town, Kingston should be actively working to improve this figure, not exacerbate it by demolishing its main swimming pool.