Disused Shelton pool will be knocked down
A SWIMMING pool at the centre of a year-long campaign to save it from closure is set to be demolished.
Bulldozers will move in to clear the Shelton Pool site, although no time scale has been given for when the work will begin.
Hundreds of people who relied on the pool signed petitions and helped launch a campaign to keep the facility open when it was earmarked for closure as part of Stoke-on-Trent City Council's £35.6m budget cuts.
But the complex shut at the end of March last year, along with Tunstall Pool, to save the council £160,000.
Once the building is demolished, the future of the site will be reviewed.
A report to councillors states: "The pool could form part of a larger redevelopment with adjacent council premises, which are the subject of a review."
Helen Burgess, pictured below, was among those who campaigned to save the pool, which was used by people suffering from medical conditions as part of their rehabilitation.
The retired hairdresser, of Millfield Crescent, Milton, who used the pool because of a long-term medical condition, said: "It's very annoying to hear that the pool will be demolished.
"We asked the council if they had any plans for the future of the pool, and they told us they hadn't. They never said anything about it being knocked down.
"I can see the building being demolished and the land being left with rubble on it for years."
Fellow campaigner Martin Hamp now uses the swimming pool at the Quality Hotel in Hanley.
The 57-year-old, of Blythe Bridge, who had used the Shelton facility for 18 years, said: "It suits our needs because of the temperature and it is not too deep. But I have had to pay for a private pool because the council decided to close Shelton. Not everyone can afford to do that. We did ask them if they could transfer some of the facilities to Fenton Manor and create a bolt-on facility, but the council wouldn't look into it.
"I don't feel the council have been honest with us over the closure.
"I don't see how much more the people of Stoke-on-Trent will be willing to put up with."
Julie Latham first started going to Shelton Pool in 2005 after being diagnosed with lupus after the joints in her hands, arms, legs and feet had completely locked.
Her situation deteriorated when she collapsed and found out she also suffered from the blood complaint thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP).
But the 47-year-old from Endon says the trips to Shelton gave her a sense of independence.
She said: "I had spent seven weeks at the Haywood Hospital and I was then sent to Shelton.
"It was all geared up and was perfect for what I needed and I felt like I had my independence back. I think it's disgusting that it has closed."
The council also plans to mothball Tunstall Pool, a Grade-II listed building, which dates back to 1888, before deciding what to do with it.
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Disused-Shelton-pool-knocked/story-15156579-detail/story.html
Bulldozers will move in to clear the Shelton Pool site, although no time scale has been given for when the work will begin.
Hundreds of people who relied on the pool signed petitions and helped launch a campaign to keep the facility open when it was earmarked for closure as part of Stoke-on-Trent City Council's £35.6m budget cuts.
But the complex shut at the end of March last year, along with Tunstall Pool, to save the council £160,000.
Once the building is demolished, the future of the site will be reviewed.
A report to councillors states: "The pool could form part of a larger redevelopment with adjacent council premises, which are the subject of a review."
Helen Burgess, pictured below, was among those who campaigned to save the pool, which was used by people suffering from medical conditions as part of their rehabilitation.
The retired hairdresser, of Millfield Crescent, Milton, who used the pool because of a long-term medical condition, said: "It's very annoying to hear that the pool will be demolished.
"We asked the council if they had any plans for the future of the pool, and they told us they hadn't. They never said anything about it being knocked down.
"I can see the building being demolished and the land being left with rubble on it for years."
Fellow campaigner Martin Hamp now uses the swimming pool at the Quality Hotel in Hanley.
The 57-year-old, of Blythe Bridge, who had used the Shelton facility for 18 years, said: "It suits our needs because of the temperature and it is not too deep. But I have had to pay for a private pool because the council decided to close Shelton. Not everyone can afford to do that. We did ask them if they could transfer some of the facilities to Fenton Manor and create a bolt-on facility, but the council wouldn't look into it.
"I don't feel the council have been honest with us over the closure.
"I don't see how much more the people of Stoke-on-Trent will be willing to put up with."
Julie Latham first started going to Shelton Pool in 2005 after being diagnosed with lupus after the joints in her hands, arms, legs and feet had completely locked.
Her situation deteriorated when she collapsed and found out she also suffered from the blood complaint thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP).
But the 47-year-old from Endon says the trips to Shelton gave her a sense of independence.
She said: "I had spent seven weeks at the Haywood Hospital and I was then sent to Shelton.
"It was all geared up and was perfect for what I needed and I felt like I had my independence back. I think it's disgusting that it has closed."
The council also plans to mothball Tunstall Pool, a Grade-II listed building, which dates back to 1888, before deciding what to do with it.
http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/Disused-Shelton-pool-knocked/story-15156579-detail/story.html
No comments:
Post a Comment