Fit for purpose?

Questions regarding Edinburgh Leisure are being asked in today's Scotsman; which featured a letter penned by a member of the Splashback campaign, in response to David Bellak, a pensioner concerned with Edinburgh Leisure's price rises:



Dear Editor

DAVID Bellak’s letter regarding the 33 per cent increase in price rises for pensioners using Edinburgh Leisure’s (EL) facilities (14 January) highlights a worrying trend in sports provision in the capital city. 

Crèche facilities at leisure centres have been withdrawn. Last spring, Edinburgh Leisure axed free swimming for primary-aged children. 

Since April 2010, Edinburgh schools no longer use EL services. Why? Last weekend Leith Waterworld, Edinburgh’s only leisure pool, closed because the savings would contribute to the bailout of the £7 million over-budget refurbishment of Royal Commonwealth Pool (RCP).
In doing so, Edinburgh Leisure disregarded one of the requirements of its funding agreement with the council to undertake an equalities assessment into how any closure might affect certain user groups, in Leith Waterworld’s case specifically the under-fives, children attending on their own and the disabled...

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More media on the campaign to save Leith Waterworld in the last couple of days:

The Edinburgh Evening News reported on the inauguration of the Homeless Itinerant Bathing Society (Edinburgh Branch) in its Monday 16 Jan edition:

CAMPAIGNERS who battled against the closure of Leith Waterworld are planning to tour other pools en masse to inspect their facilities.

Waterworld closed its doors to the public on Sunday, but now the families who led the fight to keep it open have formed themselves into the Homeless Itinerant Bathing Society (Edinburgh).  From this weekend, campaign members will get together each Sunday to visit a pool to undertake a “swim inspection” before reporting their findings to the city council.

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And STV reported on the formal complaint made to City of Edinburgh Council...

The campaign group Splashback has lodged a lengthy complaint about the conduct of Councillors while deciding the fate of Leith Waterworld which the group had hoped to save.

On Thursday, December 22 Splashback made a deputation to the City of Edinburgh Council at a Full Council meeting in a bid to prevent the leisure facility closing earlier this month.  The deputation failed to save LWW and the pool closed its doors on January 8.  Campaigners were “unhappy” with what they viewed as the “wrong decision” but were additionally disappointed by the behaviour of some Councillors present and as such Splashback submitted a complaint letter with eight specific objections.

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"Campaigners vow not to throw in the towel in fight to save Leith Waterworld"

Round up of articles following the last day of swimming.  Gold medal for best punning headline definitely goes to Ally Tibbet's article for STV!

 STV article: 

"Campaigners vow not to throw in the towel in fight to save Leith Waterworld

"Pool "chock-a-block" in last weekend of opening as one local business worries they could lose up to a quarter of their takings.

More than 700 swimmers from all over the Lothians took the chance to enjoy Leith Waterworld on the last weekend before its final closure.

As campaigners fighting to keep the pool open gathered signatures outside, many expressed sadness that the pool would have to close and said that there was no other pool like it for miles around..."

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Edinburgh Evening News article: 

"Waterworld shut but campaigners vow to battle on

Campaigners who battled to save Leith Waterworld today vowed to continue their fight by lodging an official complaint about the way the council has handled the closure.

The protesters carried on collecting signatures on their petition yesterday and enjoyed one last swim before the doors closed on the pool at the end of the day.

But Johnny Gailey of campaign group Splashback insisted the closure would not be the end of the story. He said: “Just because the council has given up on Leith Waterworld doesn’t mean we have...”

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Vicky Allan piece in The Herald: 

" In Praise of ... Waterworld

Not the sweaty, over-the-top action flick starring Kevin Costner as a rugged kind of Mad Max on water in search of dry land after the polar ice caps have melted.

But rather, my local swimming pool, Leith Waterworld, which had its own quieter apocalypse when it closed its doors for the last time last weekend, as a result of a financial balancing act by Edinburgh Council, which part-paid for the Commonwealth Pool refurbishment with this closure..."

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Lifebelt should have been thrown to swimming centre

Letter to the Evening News

Dear editor

I AM writing you with huge disappointment about the decision to close Leith Waterworld. I attended a full council meeting and watched in disbelief how political agreement overcame rational and emotional thinking.

Many councillors showed understanding of the value and uniqueness of Leith Waterworld in their replies to my e-mails yet all of them apart from the Greens voted for its closure. This is not what they were elected to do – to serve people.

Shutting down a well used amenity, a special place for whole families to be together and spend quality time together, the only suitable pool for babies, toddlers, primary school kids and disabled people, is working against people, not for them.I can’t accept that Edinburgh will trade this place for a little patch on a Royal Commonwealth pool hole. It is a quick fix leading nowhere.

There are many much smaller towns in the UK able to sustain a leisure pool, how come the capital of Scotland can not?

Leith Waterworld should be an investment in kids, their health and happiness.

Anna Mitrovic Kotúcková, Easter Road, Edinburgh

It’s sad to wave goodbye to Waterworld

Letter in the Evening News

Dear Editor

I’d like to thank Alison Johnstone and the Green Party for tabling a motion last week at the City Chambers asking the council to abide by its own 2007 decision not to close Leith Waterworld until the Royal Commonwealth Pool opens to the public, and to undertake an Equality Impact Assessment on the withdrawal of the important service provided by the Leith facility (News, December 23).

In doing so the Edinburgh Greens allowed the group campaigning to save Leith Waterworld to make their case in front of our elected representatives. I am not a Green voter, but someone who sincerely believes that allowing Waterworld to close with nary a whimper and without proper procedure being followed would be seriously remiss of councillors.

The establishment of the Splashback group to save Waterworld was certainly eleventh- hour, but since its inception has conducted an honest, focused and positive campaign. Splashback collected 5000 signatures in the first six days of petitioning outside Waterworld – equal to one a minute. For councillors to refuse even to discuss what we hold to be a travesty for the city would have reflected very badly on all those we have chosen to represent us.

Chris Askham, Dalmeny Street, Leith