To Robin Townsend,
I am a Town Councillor in Wootton Bassett and represent the Council on the Lime Kiln Centre Focus Group. I attended the Wootton Bassett and Cricklade Area Board where the review was discussed, and the meeting convened by the Town Council this week. I thank you for extending the deadline for consultation so that we can comment after the last meeting.
I appreciate that the new Council should look across all the leisure centres that they have inherited, at a way to best finance and run them.
But I am not in favour of the proposal to devolve the Lime Kiln Centre for the following reasons
1. The Wiltshire wide proposal splits the Council’s centres into tier 1, 2 or 3 and that tier 3 should be devolved to local communities. It is hard to understand the justification for this. If the devolved model is so attractive, then why should not all centres be devolved, or at least all tier 2 and 3 centres? Further the distinction between tier 2 community facilities, and tier 3 local facilities is not obvious. The Lime Kiln Centre serves Wootton Bassett and its hinterland, Malmesbury Activity Centre serves Malmesbury and its hinterland. Malmesbury is a smaller town than Wootton Bassett. Why should the Malmesbury centre continue to be provided by the Council while the Lime Kiln centre is not.
2. If the Council cannot provide investment to undertake a replacement and refurbishment programme for all facilities (option 2) then why should devolved facilities be able to afford this. If the answer is they have access to external funds not available to the Council then I would like to see further evidence of this.
3. The proposal report does not address revenue costs. I believe all pool facilities run under subsidy from the Council. How would a devolved facility cope with this?
4. Several individuals who are committed to the running of the sports clubs running at the Centre have attended one or other of the local meetings. Other individuals from the local community including the head teacher of the WB School, school governors, PTA members, parents, Town Councillors, have also attended. And there are many other enthusiastic supporters of the Centre. But all are expressing concern at finding people with the necessary time available to take over the control of the centre, in addition to the contribution they already make to the community.
5. Under the devolvement plan, residents will feel they are unfairly paying a contribution in their rates to leisure centres in other towns, while our centre is no longer being funded.
6. While appreciating that the poor state of the Christie Miller Centre and some other centres is what leads to their replacement with new facilities, it does lead to the result that the old West Wiltshire district has a lot of investment while the old North Wilts District has little. Again this does not appear fair.
7. A centre in Wootton Bassett might get even more use if it was a new facility. Before any devolvement is decided on will the Council consider any options for the development of a new centre?
