PoolTooSmall Founder David Gilroy follows up recent Press coverage with his own take - published below in full.

SIR- Futureproofing New Lodge Main Pool is Vital and Good Value for Money.

On behalf of campaign group PoolTooSmall may I commend Madeleine Burton’s report in last week’s Herts Advertiser ,9 June 2011 page 3, regarding the New Lodge Project following the first new Cabinet meeting on Tuesday 7^th June. It was absolutely right that new Council leader Cllr Julian Daly ,deputy leader Mike Wakely, Cabinet and officers carried out the promised “root and branch “ review of the Project . Cllrs Daly and Wakely are finance and structural engineering experts respectively- excellent leaders to drive this project through. May I address what Cllr Daly means by futureproofing. It means “to provide facilities to adequately meet future customer demand for the lifetime of the resource “ probably many decades ( 50 years say). The Council are wise to balance the project costs over a 35 year period.The Main Pool is the “Jewel in the Crown” and it is now generally accepted that a 25 metre by 8 lane pool would be overloaded early in it’s lifetime – resulting in queues out the door and down Mud Lane- unacceptable. However, using ONS statistics , it is quite clear that a 25 metre by 10 lane pool would give, in my expert opinion, overload free Main Pool service at the Lodge site for several,at least 3, decades.

As reported by you on your front page 16^th June 2011,the whole project team has done fantastically well in under 4 weeks to agree the vital key lane change increase to 10 lanes with main contractor Willmott Dixon Construction Ltd (WDCL) and within budget. WDCL has shown flexibility and pragmatism in the face of tough and changing circumstances and is delivering to us the people- nothing wrong with British industry here!

Finally, let’s get this all in perspective . We, the people, are all winners this time but the greatest winner of all is our democracy . Without the Press to support us the ordinary people, I would not be writing this today. Long may it continue. PoolTooSmall will continue to monitor and report on the New Lodge project both on site and off until , God willing , we reach a safe and successful New Lodge opening in 2012.

Yours sincerely,

Eur. Ing. David L.Gilroy. M.Sc. C.Eng. MIET. Chartered Engineer.

A founder of PoolTooSmall at www.pooltoosmall.com

The New Lodge project will run and run hopefully for the next 50 years as the Press react this week to the big 10 lane news.

First up this week http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/Launch.aspx?refresh=rQ1507To2q1D&PBID=684d3920-eb54-44d3-8f56-56cc53a1d03d then go to page 4.

The snap photocall on Monday shows some Lodge lane swimmers and the 3 founders of PoolTooSmall with Ingrid's latest sawn-off "YES" placard - we keep the shotgun hidden! Please read the article above in full for our reaction but also that of former Portfolio Holder Cllr Anthony Rowlands - still deluding himself about the "minority" - actually all the voters ,that voted so decisively on 5th May 2011 to remove his group from power. To set the record straight, yet again, please click on our statement of last year:-

https://sites.google.com/a/pooltoosmall.com/live20100301/announcements/pooltoosmallrefutecouncilclaim

The difference between PoolTooSmall and Cllr Rowlands is clear:-

PoolTooSmall delivers facts not opinions and, even better, delivers results not excuses!

Minority , Cllr Rowlands ? You are the minority because the voters said so .

It's as simple as that!