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Take Time To get Our Swimming Pool Right- Hertsad 17th February 2011.

posted 18 Feb 2011, 04:08 by David Gilroy   [ updated 18 Feb 2011, 04:38 ]
PoolTooSmall thank the Hertsad for publishing the following yesterday.
THE ST.ALBANS NEWBODGE – WRONG SPEC WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME!

SIR:-May I thank you for  publishing the letter by Mr Paul Davidson, Chair of the Abbey Theatre Trustees, in your Letters columns last week 10 February 2011 in reply to mine of 3rd February 2011. This was very helpful as it highlighted the invidious position the Theatre have been placed in through no fault whatsoever of their own.

May I now  ,not just as a leader and founder of the PoolTooSmall Campaign group , but also with my wife as patrons of the Theatre over several decades, make our position absolutely clear where we are now with this ill- begotten £26 million waste of our money – the NEWBODGE at Westminster Lodge, St.Albans.

Please click on our website www.pooltoosmall.com  and go to Announcements now to get the very latest news and pictures on site of what is and is not happening . For those readers without computers ,here are the key news and comments on the site now :-

“Can the Abbey Theatre defy strangulation by the Council's NEWBODGE plan? Well, so far , thankfully yes. The clock is ticking , but as the Council now realises, it is only ticking for them and no one else - WRONG SCHEME IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME!

What is the hurry? The present Westminster Lodge Leisure Centre (WLLC)  has years of life left in it . Look at the Old Hatfield Pool built in 1965 , now refurbished and good for another 25 years . In contrast, the present proposal for the NEWBODGE is currently being condemned or  resisted right across the social spectrum in St.Albans - by  PoolTooSmall, Abbey Theatre, St.Albans Diving Club, Civic Society and various archaeological, historical and conservation groups and the general public.

 As a professional engineering project manager for over 40 years , I can assure everyone that  there is no prospect whatsoever of this present technically and financially flawed NEWBODGE scheme opening to coincide with the opening of the London 2012 Olympics that Summer. I repeat , it’s THE WRONG SPEC IN THE WRONG PLACE AT THE WRONG TIME!

So what is the hurry? There is none.

Time now for SADC to show courage and wisdom -set aside any political considerations and concentrate on the real leisure and aquatic requirements of the people of the City and District of St.Albans over the next 50 years. Time now to go back to the drawing board and look again at Council's original first choice site to the west of the present WLLC  near the running track (picture left). The last Government's Eastern Regional Board no longer exists so there is now  no real impediment to a fresh plan ,  a clean slate and a new Centre on that site  , that meets all our future needs. It could happen fast - if the political goodwill and courage was there . There is no shame in that - getting it right is paramount however long it takes!

Definitely and unanimously the  present NEWBODGE plan  is NOT the answer – it is a poisoned chalice that our unfortunate citizens will have to tolerate and pay for over the next 50 years.Time now  for cool  heads to step back and realise that for everyone's better future there is no other action required now except SIGN NOTHING and go back to the drawing board. In a few months time we could all be shaking hands on a new design which is trusted and respected - then we could all close ranks and drive ahead together.”

It’s as simple as that.

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

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