Hackney Council want the site of Tannery Arts behind Haggerston Pool for part of the new Laburnum Street school (see item below). The council have offered to buy the land, and are threatening compulsory purchase. Tannery Arts contains a shared gallery (the Drawing Room and David Risley Gallery) as well as extensive studio space.

The owner of the site, Russell Gray, who also runs a property restoration company, has responded by offering to refurbish Haggerston Pool himself - instead of handing over his land. He told Hackney Gazette that the responsible option for the new school would be for it to incorporate the refurbished Haggerston Pool - instead of demolishing the gallery and studios and leaving the pool derelict.

At a launch ceremony on June 15th, Financial Services company UBS formally announced their sponsorship of the new Bridge Academy on Laburnum Street, behind Haggerston Pool. This will be a mixed secondary school including a sixth form for upto 1000 children. The existing primary school which closed in July 2003 will be demolished. The land available on the school site is just 10% of the recommended land size for a secondary school. Initial feasibility studies by the Learning Trust (Hackney's independent Education Department) included Haggerston Pool in the academy development - offering both swimming and other sports related facilities to both the school and the local community.

There was no indication at the UBS launch that Haggerston Pool would be part of the new academy, although UBS say that "conversations continue". However (see item above), Hackney Council have written to Tannery Arts (gallery and studios adjacent to the new school) asking them to sell their land for the new school, or be subject to a compulsory purchase order.

The street party to mark the centenary of Haggerston Pool on June 26th was a great success. Lots of stalls in the street, childrens entertainment and a stage with music all afternoon - as well as opendays at Laburnum Boat Club and the David Risley gallery, and the launch of the Laburnum Pilot Magazine. Bamboo Dragon Productions have made a film of the day, which will be shown at a later date in Laburnum Street.

Many thanks to Housing Associations London & Quadrant, Canalside, Pinnacle, Newlon and ISHA - as well as Awards for All, Laing's Training, Mouchel Parkman and WAG TRA for sponsoring the event.

The GLA are repeating the successful "Kids Swim Free" program they ran at Easter. Free swimming will be available for under 16s from 26 July to 31 August at pools in Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Greenwich, Waltham Forest and Newham. The entry cards are being distributed through leisure centres - you will need to take proof of your identity and address. Full list of pools and more information at http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/kids_swim_free.jsp or call Kings Hall Leisure Centre 020 8985 2158.

Shoreditch Festival runs from 23rd July to 22nd August - lots of events all over Shoreditch area including Shakespeare in the Park and music nights at Hoxton Hall - ending with carneval parade on 21st August. More information from www.shoreditchfestival.org.uk or 07970 862 275.

The London Fields User group have spent 3 years developing a proposal to re-open the lido, working with the Environment Trust and Market Sports. This would cost Hackney nothing, but the partnership cannot progress without the lease of the site - which the council say they cannot discuss until their parks strategy is published in October.

Meantime Hackney Council have announced they are spending £25,000 on a report on London Fields Lido, without consultation with the user group. Mike Martin, chair of the London Fields User Group says "We have, with our partners just been through a 4 months long struggle to try and convince the Council to allow the redevelopment of the London Fields Lido. We required permission and a lease before the end of March to obtain funding from Sport England before their cut off date. This process has run out and we can do nothing further until the Council has been through yet another expensive internal review and reappraisal of strategic plans for future parks development. This is the fourth Strategy for Parks and Open Spaces in 10 years".

Clissold Leisure Centre in Stoke Newington, cost £32 million to build - instead of the initial plan of £7.5 million, and was open for just 20 months. It was closed for health and safety reasons due to major structural faults in November 2003. The Architects Journal this week reports that Clissold architect Stephen Hodder has employed his own structural engineers and cost consultants in a move that will compete directly with the Hackney Council's investigation.

Hodder told the AJ that he has been left out in the cold by the council regarding the building's defects and is determined to find the real reason for its closure - 'We are going to have a look in the building and find out what has really gone wrong - at the moment we are being told absolutely nothing by the council. How can our architectural detailing have caused the building to be closed for so long? We do not even know for a fact that the problems are as a result of the construction'.

More info on www.clissoldleisure.com

The Australian who revolutionised British swimming has threatened to quit his job as national coach unless the Government “starts digging the holes now” for eight new Olympic-standard pools. Bill Sweetenham, the national performance director for British Swimming, has told Richard Caborn, the Sports Minister, that it is already too late to expect swimming success from British Olympic team at Athens this year or Beijing in 2008.

But he said unless there is a public commitment to improve Britain’s “Third-World” training facilities he would quit. He said "What I want is eight centres of excellence. I want Britain to commit to that. Then I’ll stay. I want Britain to take pride in its talent, understand what is needed and do something about it before it’s too late". From Times article 19th July 2004.

The following day assurances were issued that the pools would be built. David Sparkes, Chief Exec of Sport England said he was committed to “having a 50-metre pool in every major city in Britain and doubling the number of Olympic-length pools from 22 to 44 in ten years”.

Meantime in London one public swimming pool closes each year. London has 101 public pools today in comparison with 112 in 1993. This year already Charlton Lido has closed to the public, Northolt Swimarama is due to close in the autumn, and Ladywell Pool in Lewisham has announced it will close despite a recent £1.8 million refurbishment.

London Pools Campaign was set up to draw attention to the state of London's swimming pools. The aims of the organisation are to stop pool closures and to see the setting up of a London Pools Trust associated with the GLA to take on London's pools as local authorities are struggling to manage pools across the capital. The London Pools Campaign exhibition of closed and threatened pools is at Brockwell Lido cafe until August 5th.

Hackney is one of the driest boroughs in London, having just 1 lane pool for 200,000 population - and 3 closed pools - at 2 of which it is paying for 24 hour security. In 1988 Hackney had 7 lane pools - 3 at Kings Hall (2 of these now closed), 2 at the old Clissold Centre, 1 at Haggerston Pool and the London Fields Lido. This matched Sport England's historic criteria that there should be 1 swimming pool per 30,000 population.

More information on
www.londonpoolscampaign.com