Olympic pool too costly
Norman McLean’s letter ( April 15) highlighted some serious issues about the proposed pool project at the Hourstons site.
I would like to add some questions of my own.
I quote from the Citadel website as at April 27 – ‘ The Leisure Centre is a short walk down South Harbour Street from the town centre – the bus station not far away either’.
So we are told that the existing swimming pool is close to the town centre.
When I heard about the ‘ Olympic Pool’ concept I questioned the rationale behind this whole proposal.
Financial viability mentioned in Mr McLean’s letter is one very serious point together with the construction challenges.
Just as importantly, it has to be asked, where will the demand come from for this size of facility ?
I use the Citadel pool on regular basis and it might be that an Olympic pool might be too big for the majority of swimmers. The other major concern I have is how a parking system would operate. As we all know barrier or token systems have a nasty habit of simply not working. The danger is that users of the pool with ease of parking at the Citadel at the moment, could be displaced with shoppers at the proposed site, particularly at weekends or busy Xmas periods when parking slots can be tricky to find. In addition, the strange idea that after a busy gym or swimming session, customers will be in an ideal mood for some retail therapy down the High Street, is unlikely. Most people I know want to get in and out of their exercise facility, safely, with the minimum of fuss – this is what the Citadel currently offers. If relocated closed to ‘ publand’, this may no longer be the case and deter users. This proposal will result in a vast amount of money being spent on a project with no obvious improvement to a facility ( short walk remember !) already in existence.
Whilst the motivation to be seen to being proactive with the Hourstons site is understood, the proposed building of a new pool in this location could be the wrong and very expensive, solution. Peter Graham, Ayr
CallforJudicialreview We are told SAC is close to finalising the purchase of Hourstons at the price agreed prior to Covid 19 and at the start of the biggest recession in modern times .
This is fiscally irresponsible as well as economically naive. Property prices, and in particular large retail prices, are in freefall and are no where near the bottom. In these grim times, this property possibly even has a negative value, meaning the owners may need to pay someone to take it off their hands.
Worth remembering that SAC has no plans for the listed front and no justification or business case for their ridiculous pool project behind.
Once again our elected members are failing us miserably but more importantly they are blatantly in breach of their statutory duty to deliver best value, irrespective of where the source of funds. Judicial review anyone? John Dunlop, Wellington Lane, Ayr
Solutions to dog fouling
On reading my Post ( April 29),
page 12 on dog fouling on our streets, I was reminded that in the Dog Fouling Order of 2016 and the penalty for allowing your canine friend to foul in a public place carried a £ 80 fixed penalty fine.
However, there are solutions; dog owners could either carry bags to bag and bin or they could avail themselves of the washable or disposable doggy nappies available from online retailers .
The simplest solution would be for dog owners to bag it and bin it .
Ian Stewart, Ayr
Abornentertainer
Lou Grant was a born entertainer and his passing will have left many people sad.
When he began his career as a radio presenter with West Sound he brought with him experience of theatres and entertainment centres and very quickly adapted to creating a huge audience who warmed to his humour and his obvious desire to please his listeners.
Lou was a very caring man and his audience meant everything to him.
He would be the first to admit that he made the odd faux pas but never of an unkind nature. On air he played the sort of music his older listeners appreciated.
He was a master at interviewing interesting people and by putting them at their ease he brought the very best from them. Off air he gave of his time and talent willingly to those in care homes and contributed much to charitable causes.
It was Lou above all who made West Sound one of the most popular of all small radio stations in Scotland and we who worked with him for so many years remember him with admiration and affection.
Joe Campbell, Ayr