Option 1 demolishes all of the old pools, including the frontage block. They are replaced with an ugly and low quality design featuring tall blocks of housing on Dartmouth Road at the front and overlooking Derby Hill Crescent to the rear.

Option 3 moves the pools to the Willow Way former Council depot. This site is in Sydenham, SE26 (NOT Forest Hill) and has constricted road access, poor public transport links and leaves the new pools hidden down a backstreet. Although the pools frontage block would be preserved in theory, the pools site in Dartmouth Road would be turned over for housing development. There would thus be a loss of community facilities in Dartmouth Road and the pools frontage block would almost certainly not survive the years of delay and neglect before the housing market picks up.

Option 2 retains and reuses the pools frontage block as part of a new leisure centre designed by Allies and Morrison (who did the Horniman Museum extension). The design is high quality, attractive and low impact and crucially, retains the pools in Forest Hill. Everybody wins.

In line with the Forest Hill Society, the Sydenham Society, the Tewkesbury Lodge Estate Residents Association and a Forest Hill Ward Councillor the Save the Face of Forest Hill camapign think that Option 2 is the best and the only acceptable option.

The Mayor and Cabinet will decide on 25th February 2009 which of the options to pursue. At the moment the Mayor appears to be wobbling towards Option 3. In the South London Press on Friday 13th February he describes all options as "excellent" but stresses affordability and speed of delivery. He describes Willow Way as "potentially quite exciting" and goes on to state, "My preferred option is to get a pool open as soon as possible. Retaining the frontage block is likely to be the most expensive and difficult option."

If you support Option 2 write to Sir Steve Bullock at the Town Hall or email him at steve.bullock@lewisham.gov.uk