In his postings of 5 March Michael (Chair of the Forest Hill Society) makes clear his view that the old Pools building should go, in its entirety, and that it should be replaced with a new, high quality, modern building.

Michael also made clear that the view he expressed was personal to him i.e. he was not claiming to represent the views of the Forest Hill Society. However I see from the second of his two postings that Michael refers to the Forest Hill Society presently working with the Council on this matter. It is not clear from his posting what views are being put to the Council by the FHS but it seems a safe bet that the FHS are presently telling the Council that they support complete demolition of the exisiting building.

That of course is a legitimate viewpoint and it has attracted some support in this thread. However, the poll figures suggest a majority in favour of retention of the old building, or at least incorporation of much of the old building into any new-build. I suspect that that is a widely held view.

The Pools issue is very important and, whatever the final decision, it will impact on the built landscape of Forest Hill for years to come. My question for Michael then is to ask whether he has consulted with FHS members before adopting a policy of demolition?