Save Dursley Pool

CAMPAIGN UPDATE FROM SARAH

We have received a lot of very positive feedback from users of the pool regarding our campaign to retain the current council management and the Dursley Gazette is launching a sister campaign ‘Hands off Our Pool’ which will add to the publicity about the Council’s proposal.

The petition is going well, and the more people we can get to sign the better, so if you know anyone who is interested, get them to come to the website and add their support or look out for our ‘petition’ days when volunteers will be in town asking for signatures – the dates will be advertised here once they have been decided.

We have a number of comments here on the website, but largely the concerns seem to be the fear that standards at the pool will slip (cleanliness, teaching standards, service, staffing levels) and that in turn will result in fewer visitors leading ultimately to the closure of the pool if no action is taken now.

Concerns has also been expressed about the future of the Sports Centre should the council contract out the pool.  While at present there are no published plans to change the current arrangement for the Sports Centre, with the pool contracted out the situation facing the Sports Centre would be uncertain.

Many people have expressed outrage that the council should be offering the pool for private management when many of them were involved in raising public funds to help build the pool in the first place.

See further updates on the Media Coverage page

5 great things about Dursley Pool!

 

• Paid for by the people of Dursley
• Actively supports the local community
• Consistently high standards of cleanliness and customer service
• Affordable fitness through reasonably priced monthly and annual membership
• Is currently teaching more than 1,000 local children how to swim
  

• Raise awareness about the council’s proposal
• Gain support for continued public management of Dursley Pool
• Maintain pressure on the council to retain management of Dursley Pool
• Actively monitor the tender process
• SAVE THE STANDARDS @ DURSLEY POOL!

Currently Dursley Pool is managed in-house by Stroud District Council and the annualrunning costs of approx. £320,000 a year are found from our council tax. On a day to day to day basis, this has resulted in an excellent and committed staff employed by our local council provide a high quality and innovative service which makes best use of the pool and provides something for everyone in the community.

The District Council have invited tenders to manage both Dursley Pool and Stratford Leisure Centre under one contract. The proposal invites tenders from interested parties which would provide an improved service at Stratford Park and reduce the running costs at Dursley Pool, although the council would still retain a substantial proportion of cost per annum.

We believe that a move away from public management could only lower the currently high standards. It seems incredible that if savings and efficiencies could be made while standards maintained, the current management team would not make them and therefore it seems likely that a change would result in a reduction in both standards and quality. We are actively seeking to support the retention of Dursley Pool under council
management.

The service provided by Dursley Pool is second to none. It has a wide variety of activities for all sections of the community from tiny babies right through to OAPs. It is at the heart of both our town and our community and attracts visitors to Dursley to make use of an asset the like of which is not found elsewhere in the Stroud District. We want to keep it that way!

The site was last modified on Sunday, August 22, 2010 12:53:14 PM