Claims by town and district councillors that a shroud of secrecy was thrown over a decision by Allerdale Borough Council to close Keswick’s leisure pool have been denied by the local authority.
Keswick’s Markus Campbell-Savours says there has been a distinct lack of transparency surrounding the decision to shut the attraction and he vented his frustrations at a meeting of the town council.
“We need to hold Allerdale’s feet to the fire on this,” he told councillors.
He claimed to have seen just one A4 sheet of paper explaining the controversial decision and says demands for more had been met with a lack of openness.
“The fact that information is not being provided is frustrating us in our roles to hold the authority to account and answer basic questions from our constituents,” said Councllor Campbell-Savours.
“We are also aware that a Keswick resident submitted a Freedom of Information request for key documents but was told the information was ‘not held’ by the council.
“This shows none of the openness and transparency a key decision of this nature deserves.
“Does the council really want us to think this was planned on the back of a fag packet?”
Coun Tony Markley, executive member of Allerdale council with responsibility for leisure services, said: “We have been in close contact with all the Keswick councillors over the last few months to keep them informed of the situation at the local leisure centre.
“This included speaking with them ahead of any public announcements.
“The decision to close the pool was not an easy one and we apologise for any inconvenience it may be causing people.
“However, we could not continue with the situation whereby the pool was losing £250,000 and proving difficult to maintain – and this was before COVID-19 hit.
“I think the people of Keswick deserve better than that. Which is why we’re committed to continue working with local people, including the friends group, to develop a plan so that we build the right sporting facilities for the town.”
A petition to replace the pool has more than 1,000 signatures and the situation will be discussed at a meeting of Allerdale council tonight.
Keswick town and district councillor Sally Lansbury said: “There are many in the community asking why the facility can’t be kept open while a new facility is being developed. It could be years before the children of Keswick have somewhere safe to learn to swim.
“We have requested details of the survey reports and estimates, so we can better understand why it is not considered cost effective.
“But, despite repeated requests we have still only been shown a single page engineer’s report that lacks costing or recommendation as to what remedial work would be required. This leaves us questioning the whole basis of the decision.”
