Coseley Baths Wall of Shame: Private Eye, "Rotten Boroughs"

Coseley Baths: Pool Snookered

"So, Farewell then Coseley Baths, as Dudley Council brings in the bulldozers - even if it has to get a loan to cover the cost of demolition.

The pool closed at the end of August after the council refused to pay for urgent repairs to make the roof safe and keep the baths open. Campaigners say the roof problems have been known for years and the council has not even bid for grants that could have been used to repair it.

A decision report from Cllr David Stanley, council cabinet member for Environment and Culture, says the building will now be "decommissioned and demolished as soon as practicable" even though there is "no specific budget for the demolition costs" - likely to be in six figures. The report says the work could be funded out of the land sale or from "prudential funding" (ie a loan).

The pool was home to two swimming clubs and a diving club, in a borough where 55% of adults are overweight or obese, and it provided swimming lessons for several schools.

Dudley council's ingenious solution includes telling Coseley's swimmers to go for a dip in Bilston's lovely new Urban Village Leisure Centre instead. As Bilston is in the neighbouring borough of Wolverhampton, this wheeze won't cost the council a penny. However, as the Urban Village scheme has hit numerous snags and the new pool won't be ready for at least another 18 months, the Save Coseley Baths action committee are unimpressed.

And, to rub chlorine into the wound, swimmers who were turned away from overcrowded Dudley swimming pool this summer were recommended by staff to, er, go to Coseley Baths instead!"

From the "Rotten Boroughs" section of Private Eye, 4 - 17 Sept 2009.