Ealing North
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Steve Pound MP Ealing North |
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March 2004 Many politicians are, it has to be admitted rank exhibitionists. Some are born exhibitionists, some achieve exhibitionism and some have it thrust upon them. In the latter category comes the leader of Ealing Council; John Cudmore. The occasion was the re-launch of Northolt Swimming Bath as the Northolt Swimarama in the late 1908s and John was asked to inaugurate the new flume by donning the skin-tight Speedos and taking the plunge for the paparazzi of West London. Now our John is normally a fairly reserved man who reserves his passion for the home end at Griffin Park but, with the courage that only a true Brentford supporter can claim, John stripped off, slipped on the skimpy trunks and slid down the flume about twenty times until the photographers were satisfied. I believe that the pictures still exist in the Stan James wing of the vast photo-library in the dungeons below Gazette Towers, and will remain there as long as John keeps up the payments. The council had spent a pretty penny on bringing the old 1960s built pool up to something like acceptable modern standards but we all knew that it wouldn’t last for much longer. The latest consultant’s report identified not only the visible signs of decay, such as the old windows and collapsed paving, but the danger that rusting reinforcements within the concrete posed. The pool could be refurbished for a minimum figure of £5million but this could grow as no-one really knows what lies inside the concrete and what effect nearly forty years of heat and chlorine have had. While the pool was deteriorating the gym facilities at Northolt High School were falling to pieces. The floor surface had “lifted” and this excellent High School, with one of the best sporting records in the Borough, had to manage with the worst gymnasia. The easy thing to do would have been to ask the Council to find the money to rebuild the pool and the gym. As the council tax payers may have been unwilling to support the enormous cost of this the councillors and officers had to look to alternatives. The current proposal is for a brand new pool on the edge of Northolt High School and for the sort of shared use arrangement that applies in most other London boroughs. Northolt High School are looking very carefully indeed at the proposals. This is a school which takes its community responsibilities very seriously and I pay credit to Headmaster Chris Modi, and to his predecessor – John Parry and the Governors, for the extent of the consultation that they have undertaken. I am sure that all local people want to see decent sporting facilities for Northolt. We could limp on with the Swimarama for a year or two but we have a window of opportunity in which we can get new facilities for the High School and a state of the art pool for Northolt. At present more people from South Harrow use the pool than do local people and I want to see a first class facility that will be used fully by the people of Ealing who pay for it. Of course there is some compromise involved but I don’t know anyone who wants to see the present pool remain in its current condition and there just isn’t the money for another Gurnell in Northolt. It may not be the ideal solution, and I am concerned to minimise the time between demolition and the opening of the new pool, but I think that we have a chance to really do something for Northolt here and I hope that the scheme is supported by the school, the local councillors and – most importantly – by the people who really matter; the people of Northolt. And, no, I won’t be slipping on the Speedos at the opening. |
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| Disclaimer | Copyright | Designed by Bassam Mahfouz. Promoted by Julian Bell, The Labour Party, Ruskin Hall, 16 Church Road, W3 8PP on behalf of Steve Pound MP |
