A brief summary of the options provided since 2006 closure:

Initially the plan was for refurbishment. This was abandoned in 2007 when the structural showed the pools were beyond repair.

2008 consultation on three options:
1. Demolish pools and Louise House and build one pool with no housing on the site
2. Demolish pools and Louise House and build two pools with limited gym and community space, and 30 flats
3. Demolish pools and Louise House and build two pools with maximum community space and 7 storey block including 60 flats

The community was clearly meant to select option 2. But there was a sizeable group that rejected any demolition of the frontage of the pool and Louise House.

After the listing of Louise House we were consulted on two options in 2009:
1. The smaller two pool option with no housing and preserving the frontage, but a £3m funding shortfall that the council could not commit to finding even for a 2015 build date
2. A larger complex with two pools and maximum community space build in Willow Way, funded by housing on the pools and Louise House site

Most people favoured the pool on the existing site, but many were tempted by the 'jam today' option rather than the 'nothing in the future' option. Fortunately the mayor found the extra money in the budget and the two pool solution was possible in the 2012 time frame.

Without five storeys of housing above the pool it is unlikely that significant additional facilities would have been built, even with the inclusion of the site of Louise House.

We now have a pool that is almost complete and looks great. The new build (or old build, depending on your perspective) does not stick out like a sore thumb, they appear to integrate well.

And we also have an empty building that the council want to be of value as a community asset. This could be services that compliment the pool, the library, or it could be something completely different - perhaps a theatre, music school, small start up business space or art gallery. This is a real opportunity for the whole community, including those who live in SE26 as well as SE23.