Letter: Pool complex must stay in town centre
I am writing in support of the campaign to keep the Quarry Swimming and Fitness Centre on its current site.
The past year has seen a decline in the number of regular swimmers in England which many – including Olympic champion Mark Foster – attribute to the closure (60 in the last two years) of locally accessible public pools.
Swimming benefits family life as one of the few sports which people of all ages and abilities can enjoy together. For those with certain health conditions, it's the only form of exercise they can safely undertake. And in a country surrounded by water and crisscrossed by rivers and canals, swimming is a vital, life-saving skill.
Moving Shrewsbury's pool to an out-of-town location would disadvantage people who don't have their own transport, affecting the elderly, those on a low income, and families with young children whose sole car is used for travelling to work.
In 2013 Government spending cuts forced Wolverhampton City Council to propose closing the city centre pool. Thankfully for the 125,000+ residents living north and west of the city, the council decided to save our pool by moving the authority's three leisure centres onto a commercially more sustainable footing. If Shropshire Council care about residents' health and Shrewsbury's long-term prosperity, they will do the same.
Carol Bailey
Wolverhampton
