Dulwich Leisure Centre set for £5million investment
The priority paid to the need to find investment for Dulwich pool by local councillors has paid off as Southwark Council’s Executive has confirmed a massive £5million investment to bring Dulwich Leisure Centre into the 21st Century.
Dulwich Leisure Centre will be an early beneficiary of a massive and sustained investment in leisure facilties across Southwark that I am pretty sure will not be matched by any other London Council .
Dulwich Pool is well used but has suffered from years of neglect. Despite the name it is on Goose Green and serves a wide population from Dulwich, East Dulwich, South Camberwell, Bellenden and Peckham Rye.
Last year we carried out a survey of every household to find out what the priorities for leisure centre should be. Top of the list was better changing facilties, poolside viewing and a cafe.
Now that we have earmarked the money needed, we can start planning for the biggest investment that this pool has seen in over 100 years!
I’ll be watching the process closely to make sure there is consultation with users and locals on the plans and that the inevitable disruption to services is kept to a minimum.
If you have any thoughts on what you would like to see, speak now!
John Heyderman said,
February 24, 2007 @ 4:11 pm
The announcement of new investment for the Dulwich Pool, although long overdue, has to be good news. Certainly we need changing rooms, sufficient showers and a family changing area. The Pool itself could use a complete overhaul.
Most importantly the Council needs to learn from the Peckham Pulse fiasco and award the tender on the basis of quality of work and not just cost. With a contractor that cares about their long-term reputation and careful monitoring of the works, perhaps we could end up with an improved facility that will last another 100 years.
…or am I just dreaming.
cllrrthomas said,
February 25, 2007 @ 9:07 pm
John
I think that’s right. The Peckham Pulse project was over budget, over time - and the pool was so badly built that it leaks and has needed over a million spent on it to get t open again (which it will be in early April). I hope we can do better than that…
richard
Mark Collins said,
March 5, 2007 @ 4:56 pm
I would like to see some of the money put aside for the up-keep and maintenance of the machines and systems. The currents machines are tatty, the TVs don’t work properly and the lockers are broken. To touch on John’s point above, the contract to service and repair the machines should go to a reputable company.
Also I would like to see the membership enforced more rigidly, ok a forgotten card every now and then is fine but when people continually just swan in it’s annoying for us paying users.
A separate floor area would be good, perhaps create a mezzanine above the studio area which would a) keep the noise in when they’re doing their hyper loud aerobics classes and provide an area for stretching and work out mats.
Mike Betts said,
March 30, 2007 @ 7:31 pm
Does anyone know when we can expect the work to begin - and to be completed?
I’m looking forward to taking my 5 month old daughter swimming, and a lovely new, hygienic pool and clean changing area will be a real boon.