CLOSURE OF THE SMALL POOL, By Martin Sharman, Conservative Spokesman for East Gosforth

It takes a spectacular kind of political incompetence to find two well-meaning community groups and manage to pit them against each other in a fight to the death where there can only be one winner - and guaranteeing one loser. But this is precisely the situation that Newcastle city council have engineered in their bid to gain lottery funding for "MyPlace", a young people's project proposed for the city centre.

The dispute arises over the location for the proposed scheme - part of the City Baths complex on Vine Lane which houses a 25-yard pool, the smaller of the two pools at the Baths.

The pool would have to be demolished in order for the new project to go ahead, understandably upsetting the 45,000 annual visitors to the pool.  They made their feelings clearly known at the full council meeting on 4th November, with boos and hisses aplenty aimed at the controlling "Liberal" Democrat group.

The obvious question this debacle poses is: why was this location chosen, when it was obvious the damage to swimming it would cause, and the strong opposition which would arise? Cllr Nick Cott (Lib Dem) let it slip in his speech that the overriding consideration in deciding the location was "time frame". Unfortunately, things done in haste are rarely done well, as it has proven here. Interestingly, the meeting to decide the location (there being ample alternative locations) was held in private between two councillors and an officer.  What was discussed in this meeting, and how was the decision made?  Intriguingly, there are no minutes to inform us.

Of course there are the usual "Liberal" Democrat failures here writ large - a disregard for proper consultation, a lack of clarity in financial planning, and a money-grab from distant wards in the city which would adversely affect residents there who have important needs of their own.  None of this comes as a surprise.

What is astonishing is how two worthy groups of residents, each with their own needs and concerns, have been told that only one can survive, at the expense of the other; both are now engaged in a political battle for survival.  Whoever wins will leave psychological scars on the other that will take years to heal.  Quite the opposite of community cohesion, and for a local authority to have created this situation of its own volition is nothing short of a scandal.

Whilst I have every sympathy for the youngsters who want the new facility built - Newcastle is in desparate need of youth facilities, as residents of the West End have been telling the council for years - they should be aware of the dangerous precedent which would be set if this plan went ahead.  The principle that any long-established community facility could be removed and demolished at any time by a fickle council interested only in gaining government funding for the next big project is a dangerous and unacceptable one.   Next time it could be MyPlace itself that's at risk.

The council accepts that plenty of mistakes have been made over this project.  It's time for them to hold their hands up and admit the Vine Lane location is simply the wrong choice, and make amends with both parties.  If they do not, this issue will continue to gain momentum, and it won't be a pretty sight.  Indeed, they may not have much of a choice, as funding for the project depends on demonstrating community support, something that the council, through its own actions, has destroyed.

MyPlace should be offered another location - one that is not already someone else's place.