Business as usual at Dimensions

DIMENSIONS will stay open for the time being after a huge public campaign.
The decision to close Dimensions Splash Pool was made by councillors at its meeting to set the budget for the next year. The council said it would save £60,000 a year in staffing, chemicals and other costs.

No evidence is available that there was any public consultation before the vote and the decision sparked a massive public outcry. Thousands of signatures were collected in the days after the decision and the presentation of the petition meant that campaigners were able to present their case to the next meeting of councillors, just days before the splash pool was due to close.

The pool is used frequently by small children and parents, the elderly and the disabled. Campaigners emphasised that these groups would be hit hardest by the closure as many would not be able to get to other suitable council-run pools.

The campaign was also supported by local MP Joan Walley, local residents associations and the union Unison. It received wide coverage in the media across the region and in the national newspaper the Daily Telegraph who have been reporting on national closures of swimming pools.

Councillors referred the decision to its Overview and Scrutiny Committee. This committee has now recommended the closure is suspended pending a full review and public consultation.

Campaigners now plan to support the ideas of Dimensions’ staff to make the pool more successful and bring in the extra £60,000 for its running costs. They are researching all the different sports strategies which Dimensions contributes to and will maintain pressure on the council to explore all the options available and consult with the public and strategic partners. They have more than 2,000 more signatures to save Dimensions since the last council meeting and will keep collecting them.

Speaking to Radio Stoke after the decision to suspend the closure, Burslem North councillor Jean Edwards said: “What has been achieved today was achieved by the community”.