How we’re keeping up the fight for centre

FOLLOWING Matt Jarram’s report (“Campaigners won’t give up fight to save leisure centre ‘loved by the community,’ Post. May 3), I am writing in to reiterate that pledge.

Our campaign has been “upping the ante” these past 10 days or so, starting with an excellent “open mic” protest in front of the Left Lion on April 24 attended by over 25 campaigners, followed up by the joint activity which Matt’s article covered with the Notts TUC May Day event on Saturday.

In between those two events, myself and four other campaigners including Daniel Thomas, submitted “citizen questions” to the full council meeting on April 26. The issue of anti-social behaviour is especially important in light of the Police and Crime Commissioner Election on Thursday, as we firmly endorse the valuable community cohesion role which this centre has played in Radford and the surrounding area for many decades, providing a crucial outlet to young people.

Following on from the recent cabinet reshuffle, the campaign now makes a fresh call to Eunice Campbell-clark, new portfolio holder for leisure. We urge her to reverse the closure plans and use either reserves or some of the monies recently wrung from the Government to fund muchneeded improvements at John Carroll and bring it up to the standards of the other city council leisure centres. We say that the centre needs a makeover much more than Boris Johnson’s luxury flat.

I knew Eunice from when I worked in public health and I hope she uses her experience from her previous (adult health) portfolio role to reflect on the public health issues involved in closing such a facility, not just in terms of the health benefits, but also in terms of the emotional wellbeing the centre provides.

It is time for the Labour council to stand with its citizens against the wrecking ball of central Government austerity this past decade or so; our demand to the Council is quite simple “LESS COMPLIANCE, MORE DEFIANCE!”

Des Conway

Sherwood