ahlam1399
02-03-2019, 11:06 AM
When Dr Beeching unveiled his plan to transform the UKâ??s railway network in the 1960s, one of the stations upon which his axe fell was Swansea Victoria.
Its tracks were pulled up, the station closed down, and the site was razed, remaining barely used until 1977, when in the year of her silver jubilee, the Queen paid a visit to open the spanking new Leisure Centre which had been built on the site.آ*
It was instantly popular; featuring the the first wave machine installed at a leisure centre in Wales.
Quickly, it became one of the countryâ??s top tourist attractions, drawing more than 800,000 annually at its peak. At one point it was Wales’ most visited indoor attraction.
So it was a huge surprise when, in 2003, it was announced the venue was to close temporarily to undergo a survey following safety concerns about its conditon.
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768208.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_queen.jpg
The Queen opens Swansea Leisure Centre for the first time in 1977
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768839.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_prokart2.jpg
Busy times in the former leisure centre swimming pool
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15769609.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_PT_SWA_01022019leisurecentre_02JPG.jpg
An outside view of the old Swansea Leisure Centre
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
The temporary closure was initially scheduled to last no longer than a few weeks.
Look inside the massive new student development in Swansea city centre (https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/look-inside-massive-new-student-15755366)
However, the survey revealed things were a lot worse than had originally been feared, and concluded it would need up to آ£14 million in repairs – and even then that might only extend its life for a further ten years.
Details from a consultants report revealed the threat of electrocution and fire, and the presence of asbestos.
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768816.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_leisurehd19.jpg
The entrance hall of the former leisure centre
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768767.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/2_leisurehd15.jpg
The emptied old swimming pool at the former leisure centre
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
It warned the ventilation system might have been blowing airborne asbestos fibres into the swimming pool area, described the electrical system as hazardous and raised concerns the water cooling system could cause legionella.
It even concluded there was serious risk of death to its employees, and noted that it had â??little or no planned maintenance or upgrade of the electrical services in 25 yearsâ??.
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15769256.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_leisurehd17.jpg
The weights activity room at Swansea Leisure Centre, with the ceiling exposed
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
Perhaps unsurprisingly, later in the year, following months of whispers and rumours, it was finally announced the venue would close for good.
Predictably, there was uproar. Workers claimed theyâ??d been abandoned, while users formed the Swansea Leisure Centre Action Protest Group, accusing the authority of deliberately running down the facility by failing to invest in its upkeep.
And, also unsurprisingly, there was political fall-out.
Tea Cosy Pete: How a future archbishopâ??s schoolmate ended up living and dying on the street (https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/tea-cosy-pete-how-future-15641867)
‘Bolt out of the blue’
Yet, despite the accusations, claims and counter claims, the Labour leader of Swansea (https://www.walesonline.co.uk/all-about/swansea) Council at the time, Lawrence Bailey, said the news of the state of the leisure centre had come as a â??bolt out of the blueâ?? to senior councillors.
He said it transpired later that the old leisure centre had design issues.
â??The sectional construction method needed a high level of maintenance and there was a fixed lifespan which had not been disclosed,” he said.
â??The same situation applied in Bournemouth where the leisure centre had also been built using the same method. This had earlier been forced to close due to structural concerns.”
A delve into Swansea’s past…
https://brightcove04pmdo-a.akamaihd.net/4221396001/4221396001_5977121560001_5977119763001-vs.jpg?pubId=4221396001&videoId=5977119763001
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He added: â??The news about closure at Swansea came like a bolt out of the blue.
â??We questioned the chief officers who had requested an emergency meeting. All we could be told was that the building had reached the end of its maintainable life and was a potential danger to users. The chief executive was clearly as upset as us.
â??This was November and we asked how long we had. The answer was that closure had to happen immediately. So itâ??s not as though we had much of a choice.
â??It turned out that technical officers had been issuing warnings to Leisure Services for some time.
But he claimed the message had not got though to members until things were terminal.
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768857.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_leisurehd1.jpg
The sad looking empty swimming pool drained before the centre underwent massive refurbishment
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15769547.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_leisurehd5.jpg
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15769554.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/2_leisurehd3.jpg
How many people must have slid off the end of these slides!
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
â??I felt ambushed, as did other senior councillors.
â??We thought the best approach was to come up with a fixable solution but there were too many people inside and outside the council who preferred to play the blame game. Thatâ??s understandable. Politics is about accountability after all and I thought an apology was necessary.â?*
In the spring, figures were released which revealed the number of people using keep-fit facilities in Swansea had plummeted by almost 100,000 since the leisure centre had closed, but the episode had further political ramifications.
It was revealed that warnings had been issued up to six years earlier – but questions were again raised over whether the advice was passed on to councillors.
The consequences
Then, in June, Labour lost control of the council for the first time in 28 years.
The story of Penscynor Wildlife Park, the name that’s an instant return to childhood for Welsh adults (https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/story-penscynor-wildlife-park-name-15699130)
Many blamed the leisure centre debacle for the outcome, although Lawrence Bailey is more sanguine.
â??As for the elections that followed the next year, Tony Blair was fast losing popularity nationally as a result of the Iraq invasion, ID cards and tax hikes,” he said.
â??You get collateral damage in council elections where protest votes are common. Thatâ??s why Labour was swept from power in Cardiff, Stoke, Derby, Southampton and half a dozen other cities.
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768799.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_leisurehd18.jpg
The floor is pulled up on the indoor bowling green
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
â??But the fact remains that many people in Swansea were looking for an excuse to give Labour a bloody nose and we provided it â?? more by bad luck than bad management as it turns out, but thatâ??s history nowâ?*.
With no one party having overall control of the council, a coalition administration was put together, led by the Lib Dems.
Under Labour, an alternative facility in The Kingsway to replace the Leisure Centre’s Activa gym had been mooted, in the old Pool Sanctuary building, but that sparked its own controversy.
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15769375.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_MR_SWA_15022018swansea_07.jpg
The Pool Sanctuary (above The Potters Wheel)
(Image: SWWP)
The Pool Sanctuary was deemed unsuitable by the new Lib Dem coalition as it would cost آ£1m to develop, but that still left the council with a آ£50,000 annual rent on the building along with آ£12,000 in rates.
Instead, the new administration took the decision to give the old leisure centre a massive makeover. But it would come at a huge cost – of up to آ£32 million.
The leader of the Lib Dem led coalition was councillor Chris Holley.
The story of Cinderella’s nightclub in Mumbles where generations drank Blue Bols and snogged (https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/story-cinderellas-nightclub-mumbles-generations-15726108)
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768949.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_IMG_0861JPG.jpg
Councillor Chris Holley said he had sleepless nights over making the decision to rebuild the leisure centre
(Image: Copyright unknown)
‘Sleepless nights’
He said: â??The leisure centre had been a fantastic facility, and was used by hundreds and thousands of people.
â??But problems began to be brought up before 2002, with fears over the electrical system, the pool leaking, windows leaking, problems with the walls.
â??It may have been there was something in the maxim, thereâ??s no votes in maintenance.
â??Was it the main reason that Labour lost the next election? It may have been part of it, but there was also the fiasco of the Slip Bridge, which was removed from its place over Oystermouth Road for repairs.
â??I think there was a general idea that the council was not looking after what it had, and it had just deteriorated.
â??The Guildhall would go on to need millions of pounds spent on it as well.
â??Something had to be done. Nobody wanted to be facing charges of corporate manslaughter if anything had happened to anyone.”
He said that, for a while one of the ideas was it could share some of the facilities with the neighbouring maritime museum that was being built.
â??It was an incredibly difficult period. We had to make some fundamental decisions in a very short space of time,” added Mr Holley.
â??We were told a quick refurbishment would not be possible, and it could cost up to آ£3million to demolish. We didnâ??t have much head room.
â??The chief executive said we had to make a decision, and we looked at the options. One of those was borrowing a lot of money to completely refurbish it – about آ£25 million in total.
â??There was the initial cost of cleaning up the site, digging out the old pool, digging out the contaminated soil.
â??Over that Christmas in 2004, I admit I did have some sleepless nights. Anyone can borrow money, but you have to be sure you are able to repay it.
â??We wanted to make it one of the most popular attractions in Wales again.”
Read More
آ*
He said one option was to make it a free standing charity to cut down on running costs.
“We were able to make the آ£3million running costs drop to less than آ£500,000 in four years, but it still needed subsidy.
He said he was immensely proud he made that decision.
“A lot of people did not want us to do it, but I thought as long as we can make it pay, letâ??s do it.â?*
Decision taken, work began to totally overhaul the leisure centre.
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768826.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_leisurehd6.jpg
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768923.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_leisurehd20.jpg
Work begins on the entrance lobby
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
It was re-branded the LC, but with a deliberately ambiguous logo of a wave following the LC, which also suggested the number 2, marking the second phase of its existence. People still call it the LC2 now.
The old concrete panels were replaced with clear glass, and by 2008 it was ready once more for the public.
It is now home to Wales’ biggest water park, a modern gym, and features an indoor surf machine, a 30 foot climbing wall, a four-storey play area for children, plus a sports and exhibition hall.
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768232.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_queen2.jpg
The Queen returned to open the new Leisure Centre in 2008
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15769000.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_queen3.jpg
The Queen is given a look inside the gym at the opening of the new LC
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768310.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_rbp_mai170317LC23398JPG.jpg
The LC 2’s impressive entrance
Like its predecessor, it was opened with great fanfare – and once again by the queen, 31 years after she first performed the same ceremony.
People were ‘playing politics’
But there is still some bitterness over the entire affair.
Councillor Robert Francis-Davies, who was cabinet member for leisure and tourism at the time the Leisure Centre closed, said: â??The Leisure Centre was used as a stick to beat us with at the election, but that was rubbish. The reason we lost the election was because of Tony Blair taking us into a war, and the tax issue.”
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768963.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_MRW_SWA250517Councillors_05.jpg
Councillor Robert Francis-Davies was in charge of leisure services
(Image: Copyright unknown)
He claimed people were playing politics with it, including the South Wales Evening Post.
He added that in all the reporting surrounding the Leisure Centre, there was no reference to the fact the Bournemouth facility, built to the same method, which had the same sized pool and wave machine, had also closed, “and that was under a Lib Dem administration”.
Read More
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768327.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_rbp_mai170317LC23397JPG.jpg
The LC 2 is as popular as ever
â??When I found out about the condition of the leisure centre, I shared it immediately with councillors, including the Lib Dems,” said Mr Francis-Davies.
â??Labour had some substantial, long term successes in Swansea. We brought the National Pool, the Waterfront Museum, the Liberty Stadium. We have had Olympic swimmers and more students as a result. Would the Swans have had seven years in the Premier League without the Liberty Stadium?
â??The Lib Dems gave us the Bendy Bus, which is no more, and weâ??ve had to put the Kingsway right since. But I donâ??t think most people think about which party is in control – they just blame it on â??the councilâ??.
“I think now what we need to do is look forward; there is a lot happening in Swansea, we have the arena on its way, and there’s no point in looking back.”
Source link (https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/scandalous-demise-old-swansea-leisure-15761985)
More (http://ahlam1399.i234.me:8888/m/2019/02/03/the-scandalous-demise-of-the-old-swansea-leisure-centre-which-helped-bring-down-a-labour-government/)
Its tracks were pulled up, the station closed down, and the site was razed, remaining barely used until 1977, when in the year of her silver jubilee, the Queen paid a visit to open the spanking new Leisure Centre which had been built on the site.آ*
It was instantly popular; featuring the the first wave machine installed at a leisure centre in Wales.
Quickly, it became one of the countryâ??s top tourist attractions, drawing more than 800,000 annually at its peak. At one point it was Wales’ most visited indoor attraction.
So it was a huge surprise when, in 2003, it was announced the venue was to close temporarily to undergo a survey following safety concerns about its conditon.
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768208.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_queen.jpg
The Queen opens Swansea Leisure Centre for the first time in 1977
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768839.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_prokart2.jpg
Busy times in the former leisure centre swimming pool
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15769609.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_PT_SWA_01022019leisurecentre_02JPG.jpg
An outside view of the old Swansea Leisure Centre
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
The temporary closure was initially scheduled to last no longer than a few weeks.
Look inside the massive new student development in Swansea city centre (https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/look-inside-massive-new-student-15755366)
However, the survey revealed things were a lot worse than had originally been feared, and concluded it would need up to آ£14 million in repairs – and even then that might only extend its life for a further ten years.
Details from a consultants report revealed the threat of electrocution and fire, and the presence of asbestos.
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768816.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_leisurehd19.jpg
The entrance hall of the former leisure centre
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768767.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/2_leisurehd15.jpg
The emptied old swimming pool at the former leisure centre
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
It warned the ventilation system might have been blowing airborne asbestos fibres into the swimming pool area, described the electrical system as hazardous and raised concerns the water cooling system could cause legionella.
It even concluded there was serious risk of death to its employees, and noted that it had â??little or no planned maintenance or upgrade of the electrical services in 25 yearsâ??.
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15769256.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_leisurehd17.jpg
The weights activity room at Swansea Leisure Centre, with the ceiling exposed
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
Perhaps unsurprisingly, later in the year, following months of whispers and rumours, it was finally announced the venue would close for good.
Predictably, there was uproar. Workers claimed theyâ??d been abandoned, while users formed the Swansea Leisure Centre Action Protest Group, accusing the authority of deliberately running down the facility by failing to invest in its upkeep.
And, also unsurprisingly, there was political fall-out.
Tea Cosy Pete: How a future archbishopâ??s schoolmate ended up living and dying on the street (https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/tea-cosy-pete-how-future-15641867)
‘Bolt out of the blue’
Yet, despite the accusations, claims and counter claims, the Labour leader of Swansea (https://www.walesonline.co.uk/all-about/swansea) Council at the time, Lawrence Bailey, said the news of the state of the leisure centre had come as a â??bolt out of the blueâ?? to senior councillors.
He said it transpired later that the old leisure centre had design issues.
â??The sectional construction method needed a high level of maintenance and there was a fixed lifespan which had not been disclosed,” he said.
â??The same situation applied in Bournemouth where the leisure centre had also been built using the same method. This had earlier been forced to close due to structural concerns.”
A delve into Swansea’s past…
https://brightcove04pmdo-a.akamaihd.net/4221396001/4221396001_5977121560001_5977119763001-vs.jpg?pubId=4221396001&videoId=5977119763001
https://brightcove04pmdo-a.akamaihd.net/4221396001/4221396001_5977121560001_5977119763001-vs.jpg?pubId=4221396001&videoId=5977119763001
Video Loading</p> Video Unavailable
Click to play
Tap to play
The video will start in 8Cancel</p> Play now
He added: â??The news about closure at Swansea came like a bolt out of the blue.
â??We questioned the chief officers who had requested an emergency meeting. All we could be told was that the building had reached the end of its maintainable life and was a potential danger to users. The chief executive was clearly as upset as us.
â??This was November and we asked how long we had. The answer was that closure had to happen immediately. So itâ??s not as though we had much of a choice.
â??It turned out that technical officers had been issuing warnings to Leisure Services for some time.
But he claimed the message had not got though to members until things were terminal.
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768857.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_leisurehd1.jpg
The sad looking empty swimming pool drained before the centre underwent massive refurbishment
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15769547.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_leisurehd5.jpg
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15769554.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/2_leisurehd3.jpg
How many people must have slid off the end of these slides!
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
â??I felt ambushed, as did other senior councillors.
â??We thought the best approach was to come up with a fixable solution but there were too many people inside and outside the council who preferred to play the blame game. Thatâ??s understandable. Politics is about accountability after all and I thought an apology was necessary.â?*
In the spring, figures were released which revealed the number of people using keep-fit facilities in Swansea had plummeted by almost 100,000 since the leisure centre had closed, but the episode had further political ramifications.
It was revealed that warnings had been issued up to six years earlier – but questions were again raised over whether the advice was passed on to councillors.
The consequences
Then, in June, Labour lost control of the council for the first time in 28 years.
The story of Penscynor Wildlife Park, the name that’s an instant return to childhood for Welsh adults (https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/story-penscynor-wildlife-park-name-15699130)
Many blamed the leisure centre debacle for the outcome, although Lawrence Bailey is more sanguine.
â??As for the elections that followed the next year, Tony Blair was fast losing popularity nationally as a result of the Iraq invasion, ID cards and tax hikes,” he said.
â??You get collateral damage in council elections where protest votes are common. Thatâ??s why Labour was swept from power in Cardiff, Stoke, Derby, Southampton and half a dozen other cities.
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768799.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_leisurehd18.jpg
The floor is pulled up on the indoor bowling green
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
â??But the fact remains that many people in Swansea were looking for an excuse to give Labour a bloody nose and we provided it â?? more by bad luck than bad management as it turns out, but thatâ??s history nowâ?*.
With no one party having overall control of the council, a coalition administration was put together, led by the Lib Dems.
Under Labour, an alternative facility in The Kingsway to replace the Leisure Centre’s Activa gym had been mooted, in the old Pool Sanctuary building, but that sparked its own controversy.
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15769375.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_MR_SWA_15022018swansea_07.jpg
The Pool Sanctuary (above The Potters Wheel)
(Image: SWWP)
The Pool Sanctuary was deemed unsuitable by the new Lib Dem coalition as it would cost آ£1m to develop, but that still left the council with a آ£50,000 annual rent on the building along with آ£12,000 in rates.
Instead, the new administration took the decision to give the old leisure centre a massive makeover. But it would come at a huge cost – of up to آ£32 million.
The leader of the Lib Dem led coalition was councillor Chris Holley.
The story of Cinderella’s nightclub in Mumbles where generations drank Blue Bols and snogged (https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/story-cinderellas-nightclub-mumbles-generations-15726108)
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768949.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_IMG_0861JPG.jpg
Councillor Chris Holley said he had sleepless nights over making the decision to rebuild the leisure centre
(Image: Copyright unknown)
‘Sleepless nights’
He said: â??The leisure centre had been a fantastic facility, and was used by hundreds and thousands of people.
â??But problems began to be brought up before 2002, with fears over the electrical system, the pool leaking, windows leaking, problems with the walls.
â??It may have been there was something in the maxim, thereâ??s no votes in maintenance.
â??Was it the main reason that Labour lost the next election? It may have been part of it, but there was also the fiasco of the Slip Bridge, which was removed from its place over Oystermouth Road for repairs.
â??I think there was a general idea that the council was not looking after what it had, and it had just deteriorated.
â??The Guildhall would go on to need millions of pounds spent on it as well.
â??Something had to be done. Nobody wanted to be facing charges of corporate manslaughter if anything had happened to anyone.”
He said that, for a while one of the ideas was it could share some of the facilities with the neighbouring maritime museum that was being built.
â??It was an incredibly difficult period. We had to make some fundamental decisions in a very short space of time,” added Mr Holley.
â??We were told a quick refurbishment would not be possible, and it could cost up to آ£3million to demolish. We didnâ??t have much head room.
â??The chief executive said we had to make a decision, and we looked at the options. One of those was borrowing a lot of money to completely refurbish it – about آ£25 million in total.
â??There was the initial cost of cleaning up the site, digging out the old pool, digging out the contaminated soil.
â??Over that Christmas in 2004, I admit I did have some sleepless nights. Anyone can borrow money, but you have to be sure you are able to repay it.
â??We wanted to make it one of the most popular attractions in Wales again.”
Read More
آ*
He said one option was to make it a free standing charity to cut down on running costs.
“We were able to make the آ£3million running costs drop to less than آ£500,000 in four years, but it still needed subsidy.
He said he was immensely proud he made that decision.
“A lot of people did not want us to do it, but I thought as long as we can make it pay, letâ??s do it.â?*
Decision taken, work began to totally overhaul the leisure centre.
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768826.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_leisurehd6.jpg
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768923.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_leisurehd20.jpg
Work begins on the entrance lobby
(Image: South Wales Evening Post)
It was re-branded the LC, but with a deliberately ambiguous logo of a wave following the LC, which also suggested the number 2, marking the second phase of its existence. People still call it the LC2 now.
The old concrete panels were replaced with clear glass, and by 2008 it was ready once more for the public.
It is now home to Wales’ biggest water park, a modern gym, and features an indoor surf machine, a 30 foot climbing wall, a four-storey play area for children, plus a sports and exhibition hall.
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768232.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_queen2.jpg
The Queen returned to open the new Leisure Centre in 2008
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15769000.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_queen3.jpg
The Queen is given a look inside the gym at the opening of the new LC
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768310.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_rbp_mai170317LC23398JPG.jpg
The LC 2’s impressive entrance
Like its predecessor, it was opened with great fanfare – and once again by the queen, 31 years after she first performed the same ceremony.
People were ‘playing politics’
But there is still some bitterness over the entire affair.
Councillor Robert Francis-Davies, who was cabinet member for leisure and tourism at the time the Leisure Centre closed, said: â??The Leisure Centre was used as a stick to beat us with at the election, but that was rubbish. The reason we lost the election was because of Tony Blair taking us into a war, and the tax issue.”
</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768963.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_MRW_SWA250517Councillors_05.jpg
Councillor Robert Francis-Davies was in charge of leisure services
(Image: Copyright unknown)
He claimed people were playing politics with it, including the South Wales Evening Post.
He added that in all the reporting surrounding the Leisure Centre, there was no reference to the fact the Bournemouth facility, built to the same method, which had the same sized pool and wave machine, had also closed, “and that was under a Lib Dem administration”.
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</p> https://i2-prod.walesonline.co.uk/incoming/article15768327.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/0_rbp_mai170317LC23397JPG.jpg
The LC 2 is as popular as ever
â??When I found out about the condition of the leisure centre, I shared it immediately with councillors, including the Lib Dems,” said Mr Francis-Davies.
â??Labour had some substantial, long term successes in Swansea. We brought the National Pool, the Waterfront Museum, the Liberty Stadium. We have had Olympic swimmers and more students as a result. Would the Swans have had seven years in the Premier League without the Liberty Stadium?
â??The Lib Dems gave us the Bendy Bus, which is no more, and weâ??ve had to put the Kingsway right since. But I donâ??t think most people think about which party is in control – they just blame it on â??the councilâ??.
“I think now what we need to do is look forward; there is a lot happening in Swansea, we have the arena on its way, and there’s no point in looking back.”
Source link (https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/scandalous-demise-old-swansea-leisure-15761985)
More (http://ahlam1399.i234.me:8888/m/2019/02/03/the-scandalous-demise-of-the-old-swansea-leisure-centre-which-helped-bring-down-a-labour-government/)