Bedford MP demands answers over Oasis Beach Pool's likely closure just months after £500k revamp
Mohammad Yasin is demanding answers from the mayor after it was revealed the Oasis pool may close.
The news comes just months after the council forked out £500,000 of our money to renovate the site. And this Wednesday (November 20), the council’s executive meeting is due to hear the pool has been identified for closure.
But the Bedford and Kempston MP is challenging the mayor – and in a post on social media wrote: “I have written to mayor Tom Wootton to request an urgent update on this matter. I am disappointed by this news, which would reduce the availability of leisure provision for residents in Kingsbrook and the whole town. This comes just months after the council allocated £500,000 of public money to renovate the site.
“This is a frustrating development for residents, who had only recently regained use of this facility following an extended period of closure. I will work with Bedford Borough Council to ensure residents have access to high-quality leisure facilities throughout our towns.”
And in the letter to the mayor, Mr Yasin wrote: “In May of this year, your portfolio holder for customer experience, Clir Sarah Gallagher, lauded the funding as providing ‘a wholesale improvement in Bedford borough's leisure service’ that meant the pool ‘is truly going to serve the needs of the local community for many years to come’. Residents are rightly asking why this no longer seems to be the case.
“In July of this year, regarding works to improve Oasis and other facilities, Clir Gallagher said ‘residents have provided overwhelmingly positive feedback, noting substantial improvements in service quality and accessibility’.
“With these points in mind, I would welcome a meeting with you to discuss the potential loss of the Oasis Pool, and the need to defend our public leisure facilities. In advance of this, I would be grateful if you could advise on the following questions:
“1) What, if any, new information has come to light since the £500,000 funding allocation, that led to the recommendation that the facility be closed down?
“2) What due diligence was completed by the mayor's office to ensure the facility was a going concern, before the £500,000 was allocated to be spent?
“3) Can any guarantees be given that the site will continue to be a leisure facility available for use by the public?”