In response to Roz's comments:
"We need to see what precisely is being proposed for Willow Way before dismissing it out of hand. The question to be asked is which site can provide the better facilities. period.- and access and accessibility and commercial viability will surely be major factors in that decision, at least in planning terms."

- All the schemes basically have the same content as their brief was the same for the pools in all the cases it appears to me. So we can't choose on the basis of what facilities are included in the proposals as there is fundamentally no difference. There are qualitative differences such as in the Dartmouth Road pools proposals as they are currently shown have top light/daylight in the roof to light the pools, the entrance gives out onto a public space, the site area is more generous, the pavement along the edge is wider, etc etc. The Willow Way pools option is very squashed into the site (in my view), has servicing for the shops all along one side, gives out onto a very narrow pavement, doesn't include any public space etc. etc.

- We can't choose on the basis of the designs and the architecture as these are not final schemes and the architects (whoever they may be) won't be selected until after any scheme is given the go ahead. Both schemes have the potential to be high quality contemporary designs. Some might prefer one to the other but that is a matter of taste and not quality really.

- Timing of delivery is very very important and a key question but I don't think we are being given a reasonable/realistic choice here. I want to know that the council will retain the money in the budget for option 2 IF that is what the community wants and not have to start from scratch in 2012? Otherwise how is it a fair 'option'?

So it seems that these other 'peripheral' issues are pretty much all we have on the table to consider.....
- Location
- Impact on town centre
- Potential of achieving planning permission
- Impact on neighbours and surrounding uses
- Qualitative potential of the initial design proposals
etc.

Baboonery - I don't think we are saying no, I think the community are saying yes please lets have pools, please lets work together on the delivery of this exciting project, but please don't give up on the full potential of the project at the first (or second) hurdle. Please look at this in a way that it can be delivered. After all the barriers that have so far been presented to this are not exactly fundamental and the council themselves say that a pool on the pools site is the easiest to deliver. But for some reason they have given up on finding a solution when one is so close and they don't seem to think they can offer us that choice?