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Swimmers and sauna users at Seven Kings Baths and Fulwell Cross Baths in Redbridge contacted London Pools Campaign for support when Redbridge Council suddenly announced that they planned to demolish Seven Kings Baths and put flats on the site, make major changes to Fulwell Cross centre and build a new pool in the centre of Ilford. The main complaint from users of both centres was the lack of consultation about the decision making.

The concerns swimmers and sauna users listed are:

1. that the new leisure centre will offer less pool space than the existing Seven Kings Baths
2. that the new leisure centre is intended to have a main competition pool and a learner pool in the same area, which compares unfavourably with the second separate pool at Seven Kings which allows for activities like women only sessions and use by schools and clubs - and generally will offer less flexibility
3. that Seven Kings will lose a much loved historic leisure facility
4. that traditional steam rooms will be lost from Fulwell Cross
5. that the competition pool at Fulwell Cross will lose its seating (and so not be able to function as a competition pool)
6. that recent surveyors report estimated Seven Kings Baths would cost £300,000 to renovate, so is the new plan the best value for the charge payer?
7. that the possibility of building flats and further leisure facilities above the car park adjacent to Seven Kings has not been addressed
8. that  the potential of renovating Seven Kings Baths as a major facility has not been examined
9. that Seven Kings is always the poor relation from whom facilities are taken away and given to Ilford  - the library was cited
10. that the site at Seven Kings is deemed to be in a less well off area and the council therefore views it as less suitable for a new leisure centre than the centre of Ilford
11. that the loss of car parking will threaten the activities at the Cricklefied Stadium and athletics track and youth centre adjacent to Seven Kings Baths
12. that local people understood that the car park land was part of a bequest to the people of Ilford along with the Cricklefield Playing Field 
13. that the new pool in Ilford Town Centre will add to traffic problems there
14. that the new leisure centre at Ilford will have restricted parking, particularly for coaches - yet is intended to house the main competition pool for the borough
15. that train links are better for Seven Kings Baths than they would be at the proposed Ilford facility
16. that the council's unitary development plan identifies the land earmarked for the new leisure centre for a new park

Next meeting of the pool users group is 6:30pm April 20th at Seven Kings Baths