Victoria Baths axed early in city budget
Notts IMC | 20.01.2010 18:05 | Health | Public sector cuts | Social Struggles
After a long period of silence from the council the Save Victoria Baths campaign have learnt that the authority intend to close Victoria Leisure Centre on 31 March 2010, despite having no approved plans for development and no planning permission to demolish what is already there. The campaign allege that the council intends to relocate staff in February, making it more likely that it will close earlier than then.
Council plans to close Victoria Leisure Centre first emerged in 2008 and generated considerable public opposition. Although campaigners were unable to prevent the closure, they did manage to get the council to promise to keep it open until 2011 and agree to build a (very expensive) new leisure facility on the site. Campaigners are concerned that the council may now go back on both promises leaving the community without a leisure centre.
On the newswire: Council does the dirty on the Save Victoria Bath Campaign | 2008: Victoria Leisure Centre Public Meeting to Oppose Closure | Save Victoria Baths from closure, Demo at the Council House | Council propose to shut Victoria Baths, Sneinton | City Council intends to Close popular leisure facility
Previous features: Credit crunch hits Notttingham | Nottingham City Council: Mired in Corruption | Council Under Fire From Campaign To Save Leisure Centre
Links: Save Victoria Baths | Petition | City council: Budget consultation
The plans to push forward the closure, emerge as part of the council's budget report, currently subject to a mandatory public consultation. The official report (available as a Word document and as a pdf) states, "Executive Board has given approval to undertake the replacement of VLC. The original assumption was to keep VLC open until 31 March 2011. The proposed revised timetable is to close VLC from April 2010 with a re-opening of the facility in the final quarter of 2011/12."
Notts IMC
Comments
Display the following comment