THE public consultation only ended on Friday afternoon ... but we have already had artists' impressions of what a new Grimsby leisure facility will look like ... and now there is a full timeline.
But despite plans for the new £8.4-million complex forging ahead, campaigners say they will not give up their fight to save Scartho Baths from demolition.
Councillors have backed plans to build a new pool and leisure facility at Grimsby Leisure Centre, in Cromwell Road – meaning Scartho Baths and the existing pool at Cromwell Road could be demolished.
If the recommendations – made at North East Lincolnshire Council's tourism and culture scrutiny panel yesterday – are rubber-stamped on December 10, it will signal the end of the battle to save Scartho Baths.
The timeline for a new build is as follows ...
January 2013: Planning application to be submitted.
April 2013: Planning consent expected to be granted.
November 2013: Contractors expected to be appointed.
February 2014: Ground work expected to begin.
March 2014: Building work expected to start.
November 2015: New pool expected to be open for business. Scartho Baths and the original pool at Grimsby Leisure Centre would then close.
At yesterday's meeting, it was revealed that, despite 7,000 people signing a petition opposing the closure of the baths, only 874 people responded to the consultation.
Members of the Save Scartho Baths group claim the consultation process was unfair because it only asked them to comment on plans to replace the historic pool – not to refurbish it.
Spokesman Alan Barratt said: "The outcome of this scrutiny panel was predetermined because of loaded questioning in the consultation document.
"It was a forgone conclusion that the panel would recommend the new pool is pushed though.
"The council seems determined to ignore our pleas to refurbish Scartho Baths and instead forge ahead with building an inadequate pool in the wrong location.
"Members of Save Scartho Baths will continue to push the Local Government Ombudsman to scrutinise the council's decision process."
During the meeting, Councillor David Hornby expressed his concerns that the consultation process was a "sham".
He said: "The questions were framed to get the responses the council wanted."
Councillor Andrew DeFeitas added: "The reason the Scartho Baths site is so popular is its location. We are going to end up with new leisure facilities on the Cromwell Road site which people don't want and which will never reach their full potential."
However, the majority of councillors supported the plans – with Councillor Matthew Brown dubbing Scartho Baths "a dump".
He added: "As councillors we have to make unpopular decisions now and again and I do believe this will be in the best interests of the people of North East Lincolnshire."
Councillor Alex Wallace added that it would not be feasible to refurbish Scartho Baths."
The plans for a new pool have also been backed by Councillor Mick Burnett, portfolio holder for tourism and leisure, who said: "This new pool will be a tremendous addition to leisure in the area and shows our determination to deliver the best facilities we can."
"The consultation results have shown local people are passionate about leisure and we're very excited about the design images."
The state-of-the-art new pool, which has been designed by sport and leisure specialists FaulknerBrowns Architects, includes a large main pool, a separate trainer pool, seating for 500 people and a gym with sauna.
A full set of artists' impressions were printed in yesterday's paper and are still available to view on www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk, where you can also comment on the story.
