Press Releases for 2005

SWIMMING TO SUCCESS?

13th January 2005

Will an Olympic size pool threaten other pools? Canterbury District Green Party welcomes the possibility of a new Olympic size pool at the University. Health promotion is influenced by access to good facilities and the distribution of swimming pools in Canterbury district is already good. But this may represent a problem. Will an additional Olympic size pool reduce the use of other swimming pools in the Canterbury district? Dr Geoff Meaden, Green Party Candidate for Canterbury and Carol Davis, former Secretary of the Herne Bay Swimming Pool Trust, comment:

Geoff Meaden: "The Green Party welcomes extensions to leisure facilities in principle, on brownfield sites. We need to ensure that any feasibility study is charged with establishing that other swimming pools will remain viable. If virtually all University students stopped using other swimming pools in our district, would this make it difficult for the City Council to maintain our existing leisure centres? Do we really need 3 swimming pools within 1 mile of each other?(1)"

Carol Davis: "New leisure facilities in appropriate places are to be welcomed, but the case for existing swimming pools in Herne Bay and Whitstable did not take into account the possibility of an Olympic Pool elsewhere in the district. If the Olympic Pool should produce a major flow of users from outside the district, what effect will this have on pools elsewhere in East Kent? The Green Party is also concerned about the traffic implications of such a development. We need a study which establishes that a new Olympic Pool would ADD to swimming pool use generally in East Kent."

ENDS c267 words

FURTHER INFORMATION: Geoff Meaden on 01227 456806/01227 767700 and Carol Davis on 01227 372519. Contact address as above.
Note:
1. The prospective Olympic Pool at the University, Kings School Pool and the pool at the Kingsmead Leisure Centre.

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29th March 2005