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By RICHARD OSLEY
 

Protesters outside the swimming baths
Flip-flop jibe over pool rescue

‘Climbdown’ charge as £14m-project to save threatened baths is unveiled

DETAILS of the rescue package to save the Prince of Wales Baths in Kentish Town were published on Monday.
Environment director Peter Bishop said that the building, prone to boiler breakdowns and at risk of permanent closure, could be saved in a new £14-million scheme.
As the New Journal exclusively revealed last week, Camden’s Labour group have swung behind the designs and senior members are almost certain to approve them at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday night.
Liberal Democrat rivals hit back by claiming Labour had ‘flip-flopped’ on the issue, accusing them of changing their minds in the face of public pressure and with May’s council elections on the horizon.
The new proposals – known as Option Three – would:
• Retain two large swimming pools, the Grafton Pool and the Willies Pool.
• Sacrifice the current learner pool to make room for a new boiler plant.
• Install a movable floor in the Willies Pool to help learners and children.
• Take an estimated two years of building work to complete.
• Include repairs to the fabric of the Victorian building, including water-tight roofs and improvements to the centre’s reception.
• Have a 20-year design life.
• Sell off land at the back of the site and the former laundry for new homes.
Mr Bishop said: “Option Three, whilst being more cost and design efficient, is also more in line with local opinion as expressed in the local press and through correspondence with the council. This has emphasised the desirability of keeping the two main pools.”
Labour’s top brass are believed to be excited about the new option but are unwilling to comment before holding a vote on the proposals.
But Mike Katz, chairman of the Hampstead Labour branch and an election candidate, said: “There are not often win-wins in local politics but this must be the closest thing to one. We get to keep swimming provision in Kentish Town and we get to keep the old building that people feel strongly about. I’d like to think there would be cross party support for the proposals.”
Over the past six months, Labour members at the Town Hall had warned that the cost of refurbishing the Victorian baths could be too high. Previous designs were priced as high as £29 million.
On Tuesday morning, Lib Dems waved flip-flops to demonstrate the sudden turnaround. The beach footwear has symbolised U-turns since last year’s American elections when large numbers of flip-flops were waved at political rallies.
Group leader Councillor Keith Moffitt said: “This is a cave-in, a climbdown. I think Labour underestimated the level of public opinion on the baths. The new option might not be as glamorous scheme but it’s what swimmers want.
“If the council can do it in budget and keep the pool, then we would be silly to object. But this is example of the council flip-flopping.” Key officials at the Town Hall and members of the Labour party had refused to guarantee the building’s future and last had begun looking at the possibility of opening a replacement pool elsewhere. Philip Thompson, expected to be announced as a Lib Dem candidate later this month, added: “We welcome what looks like a last-minute rescue of the two adult pools at the Prince of Wales Road.
“We deplore how long it has taken for the council to listen to local voices. Perhaps if they had arranged a public meeting months ago they would have seen the scale of opposition.”
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