Brynaman Pool - no funds for repairs claims Carmarthenshire County Council

Traditionally the Brynaman Pool in Wales opens in time for the summer holidays; this is the last lido in Wales and Carmarthenshire County Council claim to be proud of it.

However, actions always speak louder than words and just as the pool was due to open, the council informed devastated residents that £20,000 worth of repairs was needed which the council could not afford. Their normal maintenance budget is about £2,000 - £3,000 and the harsh winter weather, they claim, had damaged the pool more than they'd realized.

I find it hard to believe their pleas of poverty: this is the council which is willing to spend far in excess of £100,000 per annum just to distribute their self-congratulatory "Community News". six times a year. Their expenditure on consultants is also likely to be excessive because in reply to a Freedom of Information request they claimed the information would take too long to collate!
They were also mentioned by Watchdog for wasteful practices in regard to their use of chauffering services: the hire of a lease car, fuel etc came to more than £12,000 and this did not include the cost of wages for the drivers.

The picture becomes even less believable when you consider that the local Brynaman Swimming Pool group offered a £5,000 contribution towards the £20,000, but the county council (with a budget in excess of £500 million) still claim they cannot contribute the remaining £15,000.

At the moment Carmarthenshire County Council are saying that the pool is not closed: it simply won't open this year! They are promising that it will be open again in 2011, but I think the pool is greatly at risk of never opening again. Leisure Consultants Torkildsen Barclay advised the Council back in 2000/2001 to step back from funding the pool: outdoor pools are seen by such bodies as "poor value for money" because they are "weather dependent" and only open six weeks a year."

The fact that local children look forward greatly to these particular six weeks cuts no ice with those being chauffered around at considerable expense to council taxpayers.

I hope that those trying to save the pool will not too readily believe the council's assurances for 2011.