As the 2010 General Election comes sharply into focus, the future of the Grade II Listed Olympic-sized lido in Ipswich remains an ongoing issue for both the constituency of Ipswich and the Central Suffolk & North Ipswich one. Independent Candidates are likely to stand in both areas with Broomhill Pool as one of the main points of their electoral campaign.
The Conservative/Lib Dem Executive at Ipswich Borough Council were keen enough to criticise the Labour councillors for closing the pool in 2002, but after five years in power themselves have actually delivered nothing except a great deal of hot air and much dithering. Their much vaunted offer of a million pounds towards restoration (made just before the 2005 General Election) has been taken off the table, precisely at the moment when it might have been needed.
Councillor Judy Terry likes to point to the fact that they financed the Feasibility Study by voting through over £58,000 in August 2005, but this money was actually the £64,000 voted through by Labour for a Heritage Lottery bid in 2004 - the new Conservative administration simply allowed this money to be suspended in aspic whilst they did absolutely no work at all on a possible bid for Heritage Lottery funding. The Broomhill Pool Trust was therefore offered over £5,000 less for the Feasibility Study than the Council had awarded themselves.
Under the Conservative/Lib Dem alliance this heritage pool has simply suffered ongoing neglect and repeated vandalism whilst all the positive work has been done by the Broomhill Pool Trust and other campaigners.
Friday 1 January 2010
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