Have I won the prize for finding the first evidence of some positive support for the Willow Way site? There is a (one off?) poster in the window of Kirkdale Express Cleaners, headed 'Willow Way All The Way'. As I recall it, it argues that WW is in fact in FH (ward,) that the Lib Dems are being in some way duplicitous about where the FH/Sydenham border is (I don't understand this point)and that there are economic arguments (unspecified) for the WW site.

Happy Easter/Passover everybody.

Robin,

there was a 'Willow Way all the Way' poster , as I recall, outside the swimming pools a couple of weeks ago but I guess that someone ripped it down.

Willow Way is in Forest Hill ward, but as the LIB Dem leaflet is arguing against the Willow Way site (as it is not in SE23) I guess they will not be accepting any votes they may get from anyone who lives in SE26 for example Thorpewood Avenue and other streets in that environs!

Wouldn't it be odd if 'Forest Hill' pool was further south than Sydenham Girls, Sydenham Park Conservation Area and Sydenham Police station?

Whatever the ward boundaries are (and they do change) nobody could honestly call a pool in Willow Way the Forest Hill Pool. It should be called Upper Sydenham Pool, so that it is not confused with the other pool already in Lower Sydenham.

The current pool is in Forest Hill town centre, as defined in the UDP. Planning policy is to build leisure centres in town centres, not in 'defined employment zones' (industrial estates).

I have not seen the Lib Dem leaflet that supports the continued swimming in Dartmouth Road, but I do know that they are supporting swimming on the current site and all three of the Forest Hill ward councillors have signed the petition, along with Green and Conservative councillors, and some Labour party members (although no councillors that I am aware of).

However, this should not be about party politics, it should be about what is best for the people of Forest Hill, and neither a pool in Willow Way or a delay until 2015 achieve this.

The 4700+ people who have signed the petition to keep the pool in DR so far have not done so because one or other political party is (or is not) supporting the DR site. Nor are they signing it because it is in a particular ward of Lewisham. Indeed, there are a sizeable number of people within 10 mins walk of the DR site who are in LB Southwark !

People want their local pool back ! As soon as possible. It is unfortunate that one particular party has the power to ignore local opinion.

Piloti returns to the pools issue in the new Private Eye, pursuing the 'it's old, therefore I like it' line that regular readers of his column will know very well. Third time in four issues he's been down our way...

Wasn't Piloti involved in the pools issue earlier, under his real name (Gavin Stamp)?

Piloti mainly quotes/refers to a new swimming pool history book 'Great lengths' by Gordin and Inglis.

It doesn't quite answer the question, that putting any historical value aside, would a refurbished victorian pool last longer and be better value than a new build pool. My suspicions are that modern buildings still are just not made to last more than 40yrs while the victorian pools could stand another 100yrs quite happily.

I heard that Tesco is opening a store on the ground floor of new flats built on Kirkdale just oposite Wells Park Road. I am not one for conspiracy theories usually, but something about Tesco and how you hear that they operate made me wonder if they may have some lobbying power re the proposed Willow Way site for the pools...

I am not a spokes person for the council and wouldnt say i would have a good word to say about them. However, i would much rather have the pools kept in forest hill, rather than lose them elsewhere. Even if that does mean that the frontage has to be scrapped. By concentrating on the future and leaving past arguments behind us, i think an exciting new design can be created which will give us the pools that we have missed for so long whilst improving the general appearance of forest hill. Thats my opinion anyway and even if everyone does not agree, i do believe that it is important that everyone gives their opinion, regardless of what it is. The council do need to hear how passionate everyone is about this amazing assett which forest hill cannot afford to lose.

I'm sure people would not have been so against a new building at the Forest Hill site if the original designs had been even slightly sympathetic to the Victorian streetscape. Instead, they were presented as a towering block of flats right on street level with - oh yes - a pool somewhere at the back. This isnt what we want. No surprise the 'save the face of forest hill' campaign has gained a huge amount of support. I'm afraid the Council and the Mayor are simply out of touch. If funding is the real issue here, will we really ever get our pools back? I'd like some honesty from those who hold the purse strings.

As everyone in the Forest Hill, Perry Vale and Sydenham Wards should now have received a copy of the Council's consultation questionnaire on the pools I think it is worth noting the concerns I have about some of the information that isn't included in this as background. In particular this is about the relative timing of the delivery of the two 'options'.

The only thing the questionnaire says about planning is that housing is not possible on Willow Way. It fails to mention that getting permission for a pool on the Willow Way site may not be that easy and is 'technically' contrary to Lewisham's Planning Policies. They would also need to justify moving the pool out of a 'town centre' location which is against another of their planning policies. However, although the Council have had advice that says it should be possible to achieve this it is not a given and is another significant hoop that would have to be jumped though before they could "build on Willow Way now". I am not saying these things can't be achieved, just that we should be aware of some of the difficulties that are not set out in the questionnaire that has been distributed.

Also the leaflet doesn't mention that live/work development may be possible on the Willow Way site within existing planning policies and could be used to cross subsidise a pool on the existing pool site earlier than 2015. It may not meet all of the current funding gap but could well go quite a way towards closing it.

Once again the council have not been competent in distributing the questionnaires on the Perry vale side. I wonder why.

Is there a web address to make the choice on line or does anyone know if these forms are available at the library?

Likewise I in PV Ward have recd nothing

Nor me at the Honor Oak end of FH ward ....

We've just received ours an hour or so ago so hopefully they are being delivered this afternoon.

Just recd mine together with questionaire from Lib Dems.

I take it all back - it arrived this afternoon, with a copy of Lewisham Life.

This is a disgraceful 'consultation' which gives local people two options:
1) Delay swimming for at least four years but possibly losing swimming altogether.
2) Start building a pool in a bad location for leisure and lose one of the main reasons that people use Forest Hill town centre. Plus build 60 apartments on the pocket park and around the swimming pool and Louise House.

In my opinion nobody should have to make such a decision as this, we are being asked to choose which foot to shoot ourselves in.

Question 16 is the key question:

The only way I have been able to answer this question is to delete the first four words of option 1. 'Postpone the project and...'


I believe there are ways to build a pool on the existing site within the budget (not that it is easy), but with the cost of building falling sharply, and with potential cross-subsidy from live/work development on Willow Way, it would be possible to build on the current site in roughly the same timeline as option 2. It might result in a small delay, but there is no reason to postpone this until 2012 for further consideration. Nor do I believe that the council will dare to do this in the run up to elections in a year's time.

My suggestion is that if you want to support swimming in Forest Hill on the existing site, as over 5000 seem to be saying, that you vote for option 1, even if this means changing the very poorly chosen wording.

There is expected to be an opportunity to vote online as well as by using to form, this seems to be the only way that all members of the family are able to vote (and it does include an age range for under 10). Please make sure all your family vote, including those under 10 who are likely to make most use of the pool if it is built in their lifetimes.

I may have been a bit previous. I think everyone in the 3 wards should have had a questionnaire by the end of today? Apparently it will also be online (from tomorrow?) and as soon as I find out about it will post a link.....

Just wanted post #1000. totally agree with Michael's suggestion for what it's worth.