WE don’t want to lose our historic swimming pool and town centre library. That’s the message from local residents who took part in the Wiltshire Council survey looking into a new leisure campus in Westbury.
Although there was strong support for better leisure facilities, local people were worried what a new campus would mean for existing facilities, in particular the swimming pool and library.
Residents gave an emphatic thumbs down to having a Westbury leisure campus all on one site with only 33% of people favouring that option. Two-thirds either thought it was a bad idea or were unsure.
Only 13% thought having a campus on a school site was a good idea, with six out of ten opposing the idea and a quarter being undecided.
Over 500 people took part in the survey with residents sending a clear message to council chiefs that they want to see Westbury’s Victorian swimming pool retained and the library kept in the town centre.
One resident commented, “Westbury already has a lovely swimming pool and library housed in historic buildings. These are easy to access and have parking nearby. What would become of these wonderful buildings (that have already had a considerable amount of money spent on their refurbishment) should these facilities become part of the proposed campus?”
Another said simply, “Keep the swimming pool and library in the old buildings” while another commented, “On no account should we include a swimming pool in any new campus. We should keep and support our beautiful Victorian swimming baths. Such an asset to the town!”
One resident seemed to sum up the views of many saying, “The library and swimming pool should stay where they are … Other things would be best on one site.”
Other residents feared that an out of town campus would harm the town centre.
One argued, “I support the idea of improving local services/facilities but I am worried about concentrating them outside the town centre. How will you ensure that a campus outside the town centre will not damage the vitality of the high street? E.g. the library is in a historic building – if you move it, this building will lose its natural use – surely we should encourage its continued use. A similar argument could be made for the much-loved and valued swimming pool. We should support local heritage buildings and make sure they remain in use, preferably for their original use.”
Other respondents said the campus development was a ‘wonderful opportunity to shape the future for many decades to come’ or that it ‘would be great on one site.’ Other comments included, “I would like to see the campus situated centrally so users might be more inclined to use the high street”; “Why build a new one, why not upgrade and spend money on the existing leisure centre already in Westbury?”
The votes, comments and suggestions will now be discussed by Wiltshire Council’s Community Operations Board (COB), the steering group behind the development. The board is due to present a number of options to the town next month.
The COB says these options are likely to include a refurbishment of current facilties, or a new-build campus option, among others. This will launch a second round of public consultation, and then the COB hope to present a detailed proposal later this year.
Services to be considered in the proposals include library services, leisure facilities (including the town’s Victorian swimming pool), and youth services.
Paper copies of the survey were available from locations across the town including the library, town council offices, Leighton Recreation Centre, Westbury Swimming Pool, and Visitors Centre, as well as being distributed door-to-door with the White Horse News. The survey was also available to complete online. 521 responses were received.
The Community Operations Board says “Following the public consultation the Community Operations Board (COB) have been analysing the results received. They spent time with representatives from Wiltshire Council services who will use the campus. This was to help understand what they need and how this might be accommodated in the multi-purpose, flexible spaces which could be used by any number of services, groups or people. This is the key to the success of the campus.
“There were a good number of responses but for the second round of consultation the COB will need to consider creative ways of engaging with the community to make sure people feed their views into the process.
“The first round highlighted strong support for a town centre campus and that the historic buildings in Westbury are preserved. The library is important to local people but it was also widely noted that some of the current facilities are not fit for purpose. Wheelchair access to the upper floors of the library is not possible, without fitting a lift.”
The results of the consultation can be found online at www.wiltshire.gov.uk/communityandliving/communitycampuses
Wiltshire Council is currently reviewing leisure and other facilities throughout the county with campus projects already under way in several towns. The council’s rational for creating campus developments is to “make maximum and efficient use of the council’s buildings – both new and existing – while delivering more for local communities.”
What do you think? Write to White Horse News, 31 Market Place, Melksham, SN12 6ES or email news@whitehorsenews.co.uk
