RIPPLES OF DESPAIR OVER CONDITION OF FORFAR POOL
CONDEMNATION of "improvement" works to the 99-year-old Forfar Swimming Pool and despair that plans for a replacement pool have apparently been removed from Angus Council's capital expenditure programme for the next three years made a huge splash at this month's meeting of Forfar Community Council.
Anger and regret over a wasted opportunity rippled round the table as chairman Mrs Isobel Ross told last Thursday's meeting that a number of complaints had been received regarding the recent upgrading.
The meeting also understood that Forfar pool, which was donated to the town 100 years ago this year, was next in line for replacement behind Montrose pool, which is part of a 10 million development project incorporating the current sports centre.
However, it emerged the Forfar public has been left "treading water" in the wait for a new pool.
Raising the subject, Mrs Ross questioned the level of workmanship which has recently been carried out to the current building.
She said: "To be perfectly truthful, and this in no way reflects on the pool staff who are doing a good job under difficult circumstances, I think the money spent has been a waste of time and money."
Dose of the measles
She listed problems with the floor and wall tiles, likening the wall tiles where fixtures and fittings have been removed to those with a "dose of the measles."
"I'm sorry, I think this is 20,000 wasted. That pool was a gift to the people of Forfar and it will be 100 years old this year.
"I am so angry that the upgrade of the pool has turned out to be such a disaster. I have to question who sanctioned or passed the work.
"If this was a food business you wouldn't get away with it. It is a complete shambles."
Forfar Councillor Glennis Middleton also reported she had had a "huge amount of complaints" about the pool, including paint coming off and swimmers banging their heads off the end of the pool as the colour it has been painted makes it difficult to judge distance.
She said: "I have taken all these things up with the head of neighbourhood services.
"I can add Forfar Swimming Pool does not even appear on the "not yet legally committed capital budget". It has disappeared from the budget completely."
Councillor Middleton told the meeting her understanding was that Forfar Swimming Pool was the next one to be done, after Montrose.
Her opinion was every other town was getting "everything and anything" - Kirriemuir, Letham, Montrose, Arbroath - but Forfar is left out.
She continued: "Enough is enough. It is disgraceful. I would have taken my place in the queue, as we always have done, and see the pool work its way up the capital fund. But it's not going to work its way anywhere.
"The pool will be closed again in a couple of weeks time for another couple of weeks to rectify the paint work. That will be umpteen more thousand pounds, no doubt."
Mrs Ross hit out at the removal of the Forfar pool from the capital budget, questioning why 10 million could be spent on one pool in Montrose.
"We have been sold down the river. The people of Forfar have suffered quite badly over this." she added.
Whilst Forfar councillor John Rymer stated people in Montrose were criticising the size of the new pool stating it was not big enough, Councillor Middleton reminded the meeting pool users in Montrose attended a meeting of Angus Council to complain about the size of the pool. They claimed it would not be suitable for competitive swimming, diving or for the sub-aqua club which previously used Montrose pool.
Councillor Bill Middleton was of the opinion that the new pool for Montrose had "just appeared".
"It was someone's pet project. It was voted through as part of the capital programme. Forfar was to be second and Arbroath was to come after that."
He explained the administration had been given the opportunity to add other items into the programme for the foreseeable future when they were setting this year's budget, but they had not added a pool for Forfar.
Whilst recognising the difficult financial climate, Mrs Ross stated she was "really disappointed for the people of Forfar."
Responding to the criticism Councillor Rymer stated he too would like to see a new pool in Forfar, as well as an all-weather pitch.
"But it would be wrong to put something in the budget that we can't do.
"We have to be very careful at the moment. If we get the budget wrong then we could end up spending too much or borrowing too much money in the long term."
Sold short
However, Mrs Ross was of the opinion Forfar had been "sold short".
She stated there was also a need for a community centre in the town - and she believed the former Wellbrae Primary School would have been the ideal site.
She added: "There seems to be money for other places in Angus, but not Forfar."
She referred to the new play park in Carnoustie and compared it to the East Greens park in Forfar which had "three swings".
"It's an absolute disgrace and a dis-service to the people of Forfar.
"We all pay our council tax, we are all fully paid up members."
Mrs Ross also referred to the state of the curtains along the front of the stage in the Reid Hall - another building in the town which was gifted to the people of Forfar.
She said she raised the issue last year but nothing had been done.
"I would be embarrassed to put these curtains in my bin. Can we not use Common Good Fund money to replace these curtains? It makes me wonder that, if a building is gifted to the town, is money not spent on it?"
When asked about the removal of Forfar Swimming Pool from the council's capital spending programme, Councillor Bob Myles, leader of the administration, pointed out it hadn't been in the capital budget in the first place.
He expressed regret at the standard of workmanship which had recently been completed at the pool.
He said: "We appreciate the fact that the work on the swimming pool was not up to standard.
"We are looking hard to find a slot which doesn't interfere too much with swimming clubs or galas to get the work done properly."
But as for the suggestion that a new Forfar pool had been removed completely from the capital budget, councillor Myles stated it had never been in the budget in the first place, and had never been in the opposition's budget either.
"I take exception to criticism from SNP councillors. A new Forfar pool was never officially in the budget and was not in the opposition's budget either. They didn't make provision."
Whilst he appreciated there may have been an "understanding" that Forfar would be next in line for a new pool after Montrose, they had to ensure there was enough money for major capital projects.
He continued: "We do appreciate the need for a new Forfar pool very well - I started to learn to swim there in the 1960s!"
"It is an old building but it doesn't necessarily mean it's unfit for usage.
"We are improving it and doing it up to keep it going for a number of years; we are disappointed with the workmanship but we are addressing that."
Looking ahead to the future, Councillor Myles stated it was difficult to say if a replacement pool would be included in the budget in three years time.
"Who knows how things will go. The biggest problem is that budgets are getting cut all the time. We would love to do all the pools and other projects but we have to cut the cloth according to the money we get.
"It has never been our intention to have political point scoring with burgh against burgh.
"Montrose pool was past its sell by date and they would have ended up without a pool. At least Forfar pool is still operational."
Risk assessment
A spokesperson for Angus Council said: "A full risk assessment has been carried out and established that there is no danger to swimmers due to the tank colour.
"Swimmers are supervised at all times by lifeguards, and there have been no reported or noted incidents since the pool re-opened.
"Some minor issues have emerged to do with the new paintwork at the pool. This is being closely monitored and the situation kept under review, but we have no immediate plans to close the pool again at this time."
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Weather for Forfar
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 2 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 3 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 6 mph
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