I just wanted to say thank you for signing the petition. We have nearly reached 1000 signatures which is phenomenal in just 2 days!
I also had an interview with a journalist from the courier and one from the Perthshire Advertiser today. They told me of the outrage they have heard from people regarding the plans to move all the sports facilities into a single building. In doing so the council are planning to scale down what was originally a grander plan which they call the PH20 proposal. Though I still think it’s a mistake to remove the existing leisure pool from the solution. There should be some publicity regarding this petition in the papers this week so look out for that.
I was reading the agenda for the meeting on Monday, which if you don’t what to wade through the vast amount of content I have summarised below.
Here is the link the document if you quite like that sort of thing. Its section 7 starting at page 212.
Here is the summary as promised.
Page 223 section 6.1
2. The facilities mix previously proposed for PH20 should be reduced in light of Review findings in relation to usage and market trends, and affordability factors.
This is a short sentence but hides so much. I have been reliably informed that the plan is to remove the vital leisure pool in favour of a bland rectangular multiuse pool instead. This seems to be based on a report of trends outlined further on in the document.
Page 222 section 5.21
Likely future usage trends and needs
- Swimming is the leisure activity in which most people take part, accounting for 58% of all usage. Leisure swimming is declining, but swimming lessons/classes are growing.
In my opinion this analysis is flawed and skewed in favour of swimming lessons and classes at the detriment of the leisure pool attendance. As most kids who attend lessons require a card membership, they clock in through the gate as attending a swimming lesson, but a large number also spend time in the leisure pool before and after. I believe that this is not accounted for in the statistics. Whenever I am there with my kids for lessons the leisure pool is always rammed.
I also believe that the leisure pool is one of the main reasons people visit Perth as a holiday destination. Ask yourself what seems more appealing to visitors, a vibrant quirky designed pool where play is built into the fabric of the building or a standard rectangular pool that every other city possesses. I know where I would rather be.
Finally, I leave you with this observation I made this week.
While I was enjoying the pool with my children (we always spend time in the leisure pool between lessons). I happened to overhear some young kids loving life while being whisked around the wild water. One of them said to their friend that this was the best place ever, they giggled and laughed all the way round the rapids. I cannot believe that the plan is to take this magic away from the kids. They love the leisure pool and replacing it with a sterile rectangular area will not encourage laughter, play or the desire to spend more time in the water. Perth and Kinross need to think big for the future, these economic problems are not going to be here forever. This decision that they are going to make on Monday will last for generations. They should be asking themselves should we set in stone where we are now, or do we shout about where we want to be.
Please share this petition with as many people as possible and remember to contact your local councillor to express how you feel about the proposed plan.
Kind regards,
David Thomson