The BBC Look East team were down at the Broomhill Lido by midday on 12th September 2008 to interview Ipswich Borough Council and the Broomhill Pool Trust, in the aftermath of discovering that the bid for Heritage Lottery Funding had been rejected.
They also interviewed me as I run a campaign forum called Pooling Resources which tries to research pool campaigns/closures and successes across the country.
Mike Read, who is a champion Channel swimmer and President of the Broomhill Pool Trust, spoke for the Trust and said it was a tragedy because by rights Broomhill Pool should be part of the Olympic legacy and available for 2012 training.
Mrs Judy Terry spoke for the Council saying they had pledged £1 million for the project, but Richard Powell from the Heritage Lottery Fund said that when they came to look at that promise it was unsecured and that therefore the bid was considered to be too high risk.
(The photo on this post was taken by WPP architecsts, the firm who conducted the Feasibility Study on the Pool. This showed that the lido could be restored as a heated, outdoor, 50 metre pool for £3.9 million. The study was conducted in 2006 and a formal presentation was made to Ipswich Borough Council in 2007.)
No comments:
Post a Comment