Liberal Democrat Leader Cllr John Macklin has told fellow Cabinet members that money is available to pay for a proposed Walthamstow Arcade redevelopment project – and urged Labour members to scrap plans that could see the sale of the Walthamstow Pool and Track facility.
Cllr Macklin, who was presenting an update on the Council’s capital spending programme as the cabinet member for Finance, told councillors that money to pay for redevelopment of the Arcade is already contained within Council expenditure plans.
Liberal Democrats previously voted against Labour cabinet members who forced through a report recommending the sale of “land at the Pool and Track site or alternative assets…that have not yet been identified”. This was a climbdown from an original draft of the report that explicitly cited “the Pool and Track site” for disposal.
In trying to defend the proposals, though, Labour Leader Chris Robbins apparently confirmed that at least part of the Pool and Track facility would eventually be closed. Labour cabinet member responsible for Sport, Geraldine Reardon, told councillors that there was “no confusion”.
Cllr Robbins again attempted to distance himself from the threat to the Pool and Track at the cabinet meeting, claiming that “there never was a link between the pool and the property on the Arcade.
However, the relevant report outlining the threat has now been cited by the Waltham Forest Guardian here.
Cllr Macklin believes that the report on Council expenditure will allow Labour members to drop their threat to the Pool and Track site.
The Lib Dem Leader said:
“The report confirms that money would already be in place to pay for any redevelopment of the Walthamstow Arcade site.
“In plain financial terms, it seems to make absolutely no sense to constantly be looking to sell Council land and property at the bottom of the market. First it was the plan to sell the former St James St library building and now the proposal to sell at least part of the Pool and Track.
“But on a practical level, we don’t believe that a leisure pool on the Arcade site will act as an appropriate replacement.
“From the continuing discussions we are having with those who use the facility, we have enormous concerns about what splitting up the Pool and Track facility would mean for the future of the borough’s only athletics track. We also don’t believe that the Arcade site has anywhere near enough accessibility or parking for the schools and competitors who travel to use the Pool and Track.
“The Liberal Democrats believe that the Pool and Track facility in Walthamstow needs investment, not demolition.”