Dozens join Hove MP’s campaign for 50 metre pool
Dozens joined Hove MP Mike Weatherley as he stepped up a campaign for a 50 metre pool in the city.
Earlier this month developers were asked to come forward with their ideas for the King Alfred site.
Mr Weatherley would like the succesful bidder to promise creating an Olympic sized pool – rather than three smaller ones.
Latest TV’s Mhairi Beveridge spoke to the Conservative politician before a council meeting at Hove Town Hall on Thursday (October 24).
In the late 1990’s Sport England refused to agree to the city having an Olympic sized swimming pool in a redevelped King Alfred. And for both the City Grove scheme and the Karis scheme, this dictated a 25m pool instead be designed in.
Whilst Mike Weatherley claims it is no more expensive to put in a 50m pool, it is indeed cost that further prohibits inclusion. It costs a lot more to maintain and run a 50m pool and the council is skint.
We have already got to face up to having 400 units of housing alongside a new leisure centre. To pay for an Olympic pool would we need even more housing? Where are the costings from Hove’s MP and the Conservative colleagues who stood in the demonstration group to go along with the petition demand?
Installing double the number of spectator seats and double the size pool cannot be the same price as half that. And double the amount of water in the pool? Etc. Etc. Etc.
Lets see some costings that prove the demand is reasonable please and that holding large-scale competitions in that pool would be feasible and that there would be parking, etc. etc. etc.