Various people, who I would have thought were not all part of the same social circles, have said that they have heard that the Leisure Centre may have to be demolished, because either the pool, or pipes connected to the pool, have been leaking for years giving cause for concern about subsidence.

Your writer has no way of knowing whether this is true or not. Given the different sources, my feeling is that it may well be. However, it is not unknown for people in positions of power to be the source of stories which they then deny, as a means of causing confusion and distraction, and also as a way of undermining their critics.

Further accounts of the feelings of Goole Association Football Club members have also been passed on to your writer. Whereas those who are not involved in the world of football may feel that the Victoria Pleasure Grounds Town Deal Project has been developed to suit the football loving part of the community, at the expense of those with a passion for running to Olympic standards, it would seem Goole AFC members feel they have not been consulted in any meaningful way about the VPG plans, and are concerned there may be manoeuvrings to have Goole AFC evicted from VPG. 

The situation regarding the apparent conflict between Goole AFC members and Goole Youth Athletics Club over the running track, makes you wonder whether the people in positions of power are actually engaging in divide and rule tactics in order to maintain their hold on power and drive through their own agendas. Much of the rhetoric from some of the councillors and the former MP have been divisive, and have suggested tactics of “othering” of people who raise questions – a technique common among those with authoritarian tendencies. People who have raised questions and expressed concerns are “Moaners”, “Negative”, “Always running Goole down”, “Naysayers”, “Haters”, “Rumour mongers.” The alternative explanation is that there expressions of concern are precisely because they want the best outcomes that can be achieved for everyone with a stake in Goole.

A particularly striking comment from various people is that East Riding Council is very fond of saying that it consults the public extensively. What it leaves out is that it takes no notice of the public if what they say doesn’t fit in with East Riding Council’s plans and wishes…

Many Goole people feel disempowered and disenfranchised. They feel that decisions are taken by a small group of people, and imposed on residents. They feel that any consultation that does take place has had its results decided before the consultation starts.

There are alternatives to the current plans, The area around the Leisure Centre, site of much of the original Company Town of Goole, could be turned over to housing. New buildings on the site of the Leisure Centre itself and some of the car park – appartments and houses. Turn the Job Centre and Burlington House into appartments (or demolish and build new). This would reinvigorate the original Georgian part of town (for architectural purposes, Georgian tends to include the reign of King William IV taking it up to the Victorian period which started in 1837). The neglected Theatre Royal dating from 1841 and other buildings on Adam St, some of the last remaining of Goole’s earliest buildings, could be conserved in a reinvigorated and repurposed part of town, given new life by being repopulated. Petty’s Garage could be made into a cultural icon as a centrepiece…

If we as a town really believe in investing in our children, and the wellbeing of our fellow residents, a sporting village on the Junction 36 estate, where there is room and good road access, surely makes sense. 

Whatever strong emotional attachment may be felt for the Victoria Pleasure Grounds, the site is not suited to meeting the town’s sport, health and wellbeing needs today and in the future. If the Leisure Centre does have to be demolished, that would seem to be an ideal opportunity for a rethink of the current plans – repurpose the site of the original Company Town for housing, library kept in the “cultural quarter” with the museum, sporting village on a suitable site.

If East Riding Council, its unelected Town Deal Board and the Town Council will not listen, we need intervention from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Govt.