Petition details
For all options to be investigated to fully refurbish and update St George's Pools
1. Consider the refurbishment costs of the building, water
treatment and heating system and additional income generating
activities.
2. Consider adding St George’s Pool to the wider Capital
programme, weighed against other options at an appropriate
point.
3. Raise funds by identifying capital monies for refurbishment from
outside bodies such as Sport England, the GLA, crowdfunding and
others.
4. Look at options to use the building for activities to raise
revenue to support the running costs of the building.
We understand that for GLL to open leisure centres safely during
the Covid19 pandemic, the re-openings are being phased and as with
many other councils, the long term future of some leisure services
is not secure. We are supporting users of St Georges Swimming Pool
who are asking for the pool to re-open as soon as possible for
health reasons. We also want to help to find a way to make the pool
and leisure centre financially viable on the current site for the
foreseeable future.
Primary schools have a statutory duty to try to ensure children can
swim 25 metres. This is especially important in Tower Hamlets where
there are so many canals, docks and rivers. We don’t want
local children to miss out on learning to swim. St George’s
swimming pool offers swimming classes for students from over twelve
local primary and secondary schools and the pool is used by
residents from St Katharine’s and Wapping, Shadwell and
Whitechapel wards as well as other people from across the borough
and further afield. Closure of the pool will also result in the
loss of community by the withdrawal of women only swimming sessions
which are very well attended.
We are concerned that closure of the pool for too long will have
an adverse affect on the health and mental health of users in the
area, including people with disabilities and the elderly who
can’t use cycles or walk long distances but can exercise with
swimming. Travelling to York Hall or Mile End Baths from Wapping
and Shadwell adds transport costs to a journey that is currently
within walking distance and free for the majority. Local schools
say it would find transport financially prohibitive and too
time-consuming given traffic congestion and the pandemic
discourages use of public transport
A petition with 1550 signatures and personal reasons for signing is
circulating in Wapping and Shadwell. “For all options to be
investigated to fully refurbish and update St Georges Pools.”
Some of the comments include
- needing it for better health: Low income families in Shadwell and
Wapping depend on it for their children to learn to swim and to
keep fit; where will the schools go? : use the London Marathon
Charitable Trust money to refurbish it; offers to volunteer to
staff it; we need it for Better Health Strategy; Government
launching a better health programme sounds like irony in light of
planned closure of swimming pools.
This Petition ran from 27/10/2020 to 08/12/2020 and has now finished.
37 people signed this Petition.
Council response
I am writing in response to the petition which you submitted to the Council Meeting on 18 November regarding St George’s Pools as follows:
On 29th July 2020, Cabinet made the decision to provide financial assistance to cover the leisure centre costs incurred during lockdown and permit a phased opening of the borough’s leisure centres. This phased opening was designed to maximise the leisure offer to local residents, whilst ensuring that the centres could be operated in a safe, Covid-secure manner and were financially viable once opened with reduced usage and income generation due to social distancing and other Covid-19 management measures.
Unfortunately, both St. George’s and Tiller Leisure Centres cannot currently be operated in a Covid-secure, financially viable manner due to their configuration and significant operational subsidy.
The layout of the gyms and studio areas makes the implementation of social distancing extremely problematic. In addition, both centres were operating at a considerable subsidy before lockdown, which would have increased further if it had been safe to open. The Safe and Viable Re-opening of Leisure Centres Cabinet Report outlining this decision is in the public domain and can be viewed on the council’s website. (See link to Cabinet report here: http://democracy-internal.towerhamlets.gov.uk/documents/s170266/6.7%20Safe%20and%20Viable%20Re-Opening%20of%20Leisure%20Centres.pdf.) It should be noted that the closures of these centres are temporary, and no decision has been made with regard to their future at this time.
Furthermore, the entire leisure portfolio, and not just St. George’s, will be subject to facility feasibility studies and options appraisals to determine the most effective and viable leisure centre portfolio for the borough. This work is ongoing and comment on the future of the borough’s centres would be premature at this stage.
It is also worth noting that leisure centre operations during the pandemic are being monitored and are under constant review to enable the Council and GLL to adapt to changing circumstances, including the impact of the second wave with further Covid-19 social restrictions and Tier restrictions, which are currently being implemented.
Judith St. John
Divisional Director Sports, Leisure and Culture
Children and Culture
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Mulberry Place
5 Clove Crescent
London E14 2BG
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