Not forgetting that for months the Council's planning department knew about the application to English Heritage for the listing of Louise House yet this made no impression on the Council officers who were simultaneously drawing up the 2008 plan for swimming pools/housing which would involve the demolition of Louise House. Nor did these officers and their selected architects take any account of the fact that the library is a listed building. Indeed the evidence is that these officers were entirely ignorant of planning matters.

This same ignorance, shared by the Mayor and councillors, was evident again in the Willow Way proposal where the Council's own planning policy strongly precludes any development that is not fully in accordance with the employment designation of WW, eg a leisure centre.

All of these people misguidedly believed that what was important was the market research as to what local people wanted. No. What was important were the planning considerations and the Mayor conceded as much on 15th August when he rejected the cheaper option of a Willow Way leisure complex.

So a great deal of taxpayers' money and much time have been wasted because of the ignorance of the officers charged with building swimming pools as well as the ignorance of councillors and the Mayor about planning issues and planning policy. It is not acceptable that such ignorance is so prevalent in the Council and it is certainly not acceptable in someone in the powerful position of being a directly elected mayor.