Looks like we shall have swimming back in Forest Hill.

Excellent!

Of course everyone's claiming it was their party/group/questionnaire/petition that clinched the deal - SO WHAT?!

WELL DONE ME for signing the petition, doing the telephone survey and the online survey.

Maybe they should be renamed The Essjaygee Pools.

No, I'm Spartacus!

I'm afraid I have not read all 62 pages of comments but there are a couple of points I would like to make. There seems to have been a suggestion in some posts that I had changed my mind about wanting to have swimming in Forest Hill. Ever since the we had the Health and Safety notice served on the Pools I have been trying to find a solution and if anyone can point to a statement I 've made saying I wasn't supporting swimming in Forest Hill I will pay for them to have dinner in the Dartmouth. The original debate was between demolition and refurbishment and not enough people supported rebuild so I put money aside to refurbish. As more detailed investigations revealed how bad the state of the building was that became impractical so I put more money aside to do a rebuild which would now be under way if Louise House hadn't been listed. Willow Way was one solution and rebuilding behind teh frontage was another. Since the consultation began we have had some helpful movement in capital resources so it was possible to put even more money aside to go for the option I agreed last week.

Live-Work on Willow Way - planning zoning doesn'ts eem to favour it as thinsg stand. I think its a good idea and we will look a the feasibility. Planning policies can alwways be reviewed of course.

Finally - Yes I really am the mayor but don't expect me to be a regular poster on the site.
Steve

Personally I think all that could be done by the Council/Mayor was done. Granted, there are always 'issues' that affect decision making and the process is never smooth. Some will also see the processes behind such decisions as lengthy, pointless, and resource consuming and in many cases they are/were are such criticisms are justified. And the debate as to what precisely constitutes Forest Hill v Sydenham will probably raise its head again in other matters.

I think today's hostile economic climate has made a lot of public spending decisions very difficult, and again, personally, if the outcome was Willow Way I think people would still have used those pools and got on with life. However we are here now, the community has got the result it wanted, and as I see it, its still unbelievable that this has happened in current circumstances but no doubt the story isn't over yet and there are still many hurdles to surmount.

Lets hope that the next stages of planning and procurement run smoothly, that the Council continue to engage with the community, but generally operate a transparent clearly thought out process from now until the works get under way. ' Engagement' would probably mean regular press releases on the process as the media is not the most reliable source for reporting facts. I suspect that many people are still not entirely sure what sort of facilities we are getting(or like me have forgotten what was precisely on the table) so hope that community engagement will continue in this discussion but that overall, commonsense and good project management will prevail. What we need next is a clear programme for delivery of the pools, and a facility that works, is sustainable, and is well managed and which focusses on enabling swimming rather than be diluted than this and that facility.

So if that really is you posting Steve, then I think the 'community' ought to be thanking you for the decision not berating you for the twists and turns that this process has taken over the years along with associated mistakes. This will not get us anywhere.

Well said Roz. And thanks to the Mayor for daring to raise his head on this board!

Is there an election or something within the next 12 months?

Well Roz....a survey in the 1990's stated the roof needed repairing.

Following the closure of the pools the subsequent survey clearly indicated the council had failed to carry out the roof repairs required, thus leading to the dramatic closure in 2006.

Thankfully those who lead the council in the 1990's are a thing of the past and have been replaced by a new visionary at the helm.

It has taken 5 years merely to agree a scheme that most are happy with, but a design, planning permission and developer are still to be agreed.

Lewisham has a directly mayor which it is said leads to quicker and decisive decisions but why did this take 5 years, Dowham contract agreement 3 years, Lewisham Gateway developer agreement 2 years rather than 3 months, site for a new school 5 years.

Possibly a review of the overall decision making process of the Council is required. Blaming outside bodies for frustrating council decisions is beginning to look like an excuse for poor decisions.

If we were led by the various autocratic Mayors of Paris in recent years who steamrollered through the various 'grands projets' ie new opera house, Louvre pyramid, etc we would probably have got us further quicker, I admit, but that does not seem to be the British way. The price of democracy is surely time.

I'm with Roz all the way. Well said.
And congratulations to EVERYONE for getting the result that the majority of Forest Hill seems to want. It's been such a long time coming, but hopefully worth the wait.

We are not there yet - the battle is only half won. The time for congratulations will be when the pools open!

Now this thread has made it into the South London Press!

http://www.southlondon-today.co.uk/tn/Ne...%20critics

Excellent! The more publicity the better - now lets get these pools built! Come on Steve....

Now two months on, does anyone know what progress is being made - or if a timetable has been implemented for this project?

I heard that the council will be short listing those interested in the tender this month, but my timing could be slightly off.
The current stage involves tenders and contracts, so it is not too surprising we are not hearing much on the pools at present.

As far as I am aware Michael is right and the Council are currently working on the appointment of Architects to take the project forward to planning.

The next meeting of the stakeholder group has been organised for the 28th September. I will report back on progress after that meeting....

Thanks michael and Satchers,

My anxiety (doubtless shared) is that this thing needs to get momentum before politics get in the way...

before?!

I was being generous - but, technically, 'before politics affect the current decision'.

We have been assured that a decision has been made, and given how Officers were with previous decisions there won't be any swaying without specific instruction from the Mayor. I really hope not anyway.

I guess the question about the political input is whether any change in any elections that may or may not happen next year will bring about a change in direction. With 5500+ people putting their name to a petition to support a new pool in this location it wouldn't seem sensible for any political party to change things.

We will ask the Council specifically to up date us on the delivery programme and key stages at the Stakeholder meeting so that we can keep people (or those on se23.com) informed with what is supposed to be happening when.

There was a stakeholder meeting on Monday night and the officers confirmed the programme they are working to on the pools and what they have been doing over the summer. They are quite far advanced on the appointment of architects and other members of the design team, so work is progressing.

The working programme for the project is as follows:

Early November 2009: Appoint design team
November 09 to April 2010: Work up design proposals for pools, leading to a planning application in April 2010
September 2010: Target date for planning approval
January 2011: Completion of detailed design
June 2011: Appoint principal contractor
December 2012: Pool opens (hurrah!)

Hopefully there will be some consultation on the updated proposals in the new year and the next stakeholder meeting is planned for early December.

That's interesting because the council's website show Oct 7th as being a key date for "Appointment of architect, structural and service engineers for Forest Hill Pools" and Oct 21st for "Appointment of Design Team for Forest Hill Pools".

Might we hear who the architects are next week, or will we have to wait?