Forest Hill Baths
Posted by pool@hced.co.uk, 3/1/05 at 5:28:35 PM.
Friends of Forest Hill Baths
March 15th 1994: We post this leisure review for you to read, so that you have some of the background to the current state of affairs that exists in Lewisham with respect to leisure and sport facilities.
In the meantime we await the current leisure review and condition survey of Forest Hill pools.
Both of which Lewisham Council appears to be apprehensive of producing for public scrutiny.
Click here to read the report
Swimming Provision in Lewisham - 21 October 1994
(pdf 1.9 Mb)
December 15th: In answer to public questions, Lewisham Council said "No decision has been taken as yet on the long term future of Forest Hill Pool although it is in a poor state of repair. In particular the 'plant' cannot be guaranteed to continue to function safely and could fail without warning. There are however no plans to close Forest Hill at present......The capital spending programme is planned ahead, and includes spending on sports and leisure facilities as well as other Council priorities. The needs of the Forest Hill complex will therefore be considered in the light of other competing claims on the Council's capital funds.
November 2004: Kristine Taylor who set up the Friends of Forest Hill Baths group reports:
“Lewisham Council threatened to close the baths in 1996. When I called the town hall a council officer told me that this was none of my business, so I phoned the South London press and asked for support, which they gave. As part of the campaign we set up a traders organisation and then involved Sainsbury’s and later Boots and Connex. I told them this is about local people’s health and livelihoods, it’s about children learning to swim, and everyone keeping fit. They took our leaflets and handed them out to customers.
“The effect snowballed and soon I was getting a call every 9 seconds about the baths, from local people, press and even people in government departments who had learned to swim in Forest Hill. I kept saying to people ‘The baths were put there for us to use and they are ours’. We had lots of publicity including Channel 5 who did some filmed interviews. In the end the Council started changing their minds; after a big public meeting I found out from Ceefax that the baths had been saved.
“The Friends of Forest Hill Baths were set up to make sure that this doesn’t happen again. We fear that the baths will be closed and knocked down when the new Lewisham pool is built".
More information from Kristine Taylor on 020 8699 1605
News Postings Archive
Forest Hill Pools in Lewisham has been closed today.
Lewisham Council made this sudden announcement today after surveyors discovered that some of the 126 year old beams holding the victorian glass ceiling was rotten.
The pool will stay closed and the Council is now considering bringing forward the programmed refurbishment that had been scheduled to take place in a few years time.
...more ---> ...| Forest Hill Pools | 27 March 2006; 5:15:29 PM |# | | Discuss |
"The Seaton Pool Campaign have had many requests to show a picture of the infamous sculpture that is on a roundabout outside Seaton Pool.' All pictures may be freely used and best quality copies can be obtained by emailing sspsubscribe@drsa.org.uk.' Rumour has it that it cost £250,000 pounds sterling.' Incredible!' Where do the RDA get the money from?' Was' money well spent? That amount of money would keep Seaton Pool running for a year and a half!
'
"
(Via Save Seaton Pool Pictures of that sculpture (and Seaton Pool): .)
The BBC ran a piece on this story as well
Technorati Tags: Swimming Pools, UK Lidos
...more ---> ...| Forest Hill Pools | 2 January 2006; 1:41:20 PM |# | | Discuss |
It is becoming increasingly difficult to cover progress on the consultation on Forest Hill pools as it seems, among many things, that the consultation documents to which we recently linked on the Lewisham website have been withdrawn and replaced with a new document with significant differences.
"The much heralded consultation on the future of Forest Hill Pools stumbled to a beginning at the first of two consultations at Sydenham Girls School on Wednesday night (October 5th 2005). Stumbled because most of the consultation documents have yet to be circulated and there was no obvious publicity to be found either at the Pools or nearby Library. Nevertheless the word had got around and around 150 people came to hear what Lewisham's Mayor (and Forest Hill resident) Steve Bullock had to say and express their own opinions."
(Via The Forest Hill London SE23 News: Forest Hill Pools Consultation: .)
...more ---> ...| Forest Hill Pools | 7 October 2005; 8:14:31 AM |# | | Discuss |
Lewisham boasts 2 pool campaigns - the Save the Ladywell Pool campaign and the Friends of Forest Hill Baths. Recent speculation has surrounded the future of Forest Hill Baths, while the Save Lady Pool group have taken their campaign to the streets.
Tonight representatives from both campaigns are taking questions to the meet the mayor of London. More information.. or watch the event on the GLA webcast
...more ---> ...| Forest Hill Pools | 1 March 2005; 5:41:42 PM |# | | Discuss |
THE future of London's two oldest swimming pools has been plunged into uncertainty.
It is feared that the much-loved Forest Hill Pools in Dartmouth Road, may be surplus to requirements.
The council (Lewisham) has said it has no 'specific' plans for the site which has two 25 metre pools but admits it is evaluating all leisure facilities in the borough.
Seven years ago the South London Press supported the Save Forest Hill Pools Campaign, which successfully fought off an attempt to close the facilities. Now the future of the pools is again uncertain."
(Via By Julia Lewis, South London Press.)
...more ---> ...| Forest Hill Pools | 23 February 2005; 12:16:53 PM |# | | Discuss |
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