Why and how Temple Cowley Pools affects Women

The Save Temple Cowley Pools Action Group is trying to save our swimming pool, gym and other leisure facilities from destruction by Oxford City Council. This site is the main place to come to find out the latest information on the campaign and what the Council is (or isn't) doing.

HELP!

We are inviting more people to join the campaign and help change the council's mind. Lots of people think the new pool and TCP closure is a done deal - it isn't, but the pool needs YOUR help NOW to make the difference - email us at savetcp@gmail.com and please come to our weekly meetings (7-8pm, Exeter Hall/Indian Room, Sunday evenings, see Upcoming Events).

The Council says that Temple Cowley Leisure Centre (swimming pool, diving pool, sauna, gym, exercise class room, toddler pool) is too old, costly and emits too many greenhouse gases. They say that it will be cheaper to build a new pool (only a pool, 25m x 8 lane, same size as now) next to the Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre and close the pools and other leisure facilities currently at Temple Cowley and Blackbird Leys. They say they can only build a new pool if Temple Cowley Leisure Centre is knocked down. We say it is wrong to pit two communities against each other, and that it would be less expensive overall to refurbish both Temple Cowley and Blackbird Leys. We say that the current maintenance costs are unnecessary and can be significantly reduced with a minimal investment, and that the Council should spend the money on repairing Temple Cowley that it hasn't over the last 10 years. We say that the pool is part of a community provision that includes the library, health centre, shopping centre and retail park, and that the council would deprive thousands of people of leisure facilities if they shut TCP. There's more detail elsewhere on this site, but that's the short version.

The Labour administration has already spent nearly £1m of our money on consultants fees to help them justify spending over £9m to build only a 25m pool - the council finance department has said that £3m will refurbish and improve Temple Cowley Leisure Centre AND the existing Blackbird Leys Swimming Pool. The council argues that a new pool would be less risk - we don't agree; there'sno point in have a new facility that few people want where few people want it, and closing two facilities that thousands already use and want to keeep using!

Contact your councillors to let them know what you think, especially if they are on the City Executive Board - if you don't know who your councillors are, email us your postcode and we'll tell you. You can meet them in person if you are lucky and they tell you where they will be, or you can email them or phone them or write to them.

Please contact us at savetcp@gmail.com if you can help the campaign and have a look at out website http://tiny.cc/savetcp

We meet every Sunday evening, 7-8pm at The Indian Room (old Exeter Hall pub) restaurant/bar in Cowley to discuss latest happenings and plan the coming week.