HAVING sat for over three and a quarter hours at February’s well attended full Bromsgrove District Council meeting it was a great pity the chairman had to prematurely close this extended meeting dur - ing the last and very important debate about future provision of Services at Redditch’s Alexandra hos pital, due to the meeting des cending into a political blame game over NHS funding.

Which was clear from the vocal reaction of disgust of the public around me was a sour note to conclude the evening, which up to then had been a revealing meeting in several ways, involving heated clashes between key councillor Now that there are three official political groupings representing all the district councillors, each group representative was allowed time to lay out their own financial proposals for the future of Bromsgrove of which the replacement and costing of a new leisure centre in the town was laid out, debated and voted on; the result being a foregone conclusion but well worth listening to with local elections this year.

The Conservatives gave the impression that it’s an exciting new development to look forward to, based on much greater use of its facilities, making it financially viable in their view; yet is this likely. The Labour group concedethat it’s a scaled down replacement without a Sports Hall but better than no Leisure Centre at all.

Whereas the independent councillors view it as an unacceptable financial burden on all the residents of the District, which most will never use anyway, or instead use better facilities providing by adjacent and often nearer neighbouring authorities; suggesting that an alternative possi - bility could be to have a joint venture with an established existing lei - sure provider.

So is committing to pay - ing back over £11 million on a replacement new lei - sure centre, without a sports hall, over the fol - lowing 50 years, based on what is considered affordable, instead of one that provides all the facilities provided by the present Dolphin Centre what most Bromsgrove residents would accept; is something better than nothing or should the majority of Bromsgrove residents not be burdened with the debt of a centre they are never likely to use.

Present district councillors seem happy to spend many million of pounds renovating the hundred year old Edwardian built Parkside School building that will benefit few people; yet tell us that the 50 year old Dolphin Leisure Centre, that benefits far more people, cannot cost effectively be renovated; a building that provides more options than its proposed replacement.

Today’s building techniques and materials means that no building is beyond the capability of renovation to make them safe, so what would be the cost involved in preserving the present Dolphin Centre and upgrading it, that would keep all the present facilities and leave scope for future additions such as a replacement water flume; or is it now too late.

Perhaps this will be an issue that will influence voters in the forthcoming local elections. Yet I do hope that if we do have a new leisure centre it does not suffer the same fate of the fairly new, structurally sound Market Hall that Bromsgrove district councillors had relativelecently unceremoniously demolished as it was sup - posedly draining the Council’s coffers; clearing the site within a week to supposedly have built a multi- screen cinema complex that now appears to be another failed venture.

The suggestion by a member of the public that the building could have been used for a temporary ice skating rink was dismissed by Bromsgrove District Council but it does appears to have a reputation of not listening to its residents be it the Market Hall or the Marl brook Tip Saga, so it’s now time for some new faces in the Council Chamber.

Malcolm Guest

The Flats,

Bromsgrove