There has been something of a deathly silence on the swimming pool recently, but a method of enabling William Coatesworth to make a judgement on pool running costs and claimed shortfall may now have been found and a further meeting between all interested parties is due on Thursday of this week. Rye News is, of course, published late on Thursday and we will try and get a report in time or, if necessary, insert it later.
At the moment we have no indication as to what conclusions Mr Coatesworth might be reaching or what the chances of seeing the pool back in commission in the near future might be. However it is worth bearing in mind that closure was attributed to energy prices – specifically gas – due to the double problem of reduced supplies to Europe from Russia and a worldwide post-Covid increase in demand. Prices reached their highest in September last year and, at the time, were not expected to reduce in the near future.
However times change and thanks partly to a mild autumn and relatively mild winter, together with alternative sources of gas becoming available, Europe’s reserves are full almost to bursting, the UK’s reserves look adequate, with coal available as a backup (although not currently expected to be required) and so the pressure is off. As a result prices have been on the slide and now stand at a level somewhat below that of a year ago and the commencement of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
With the coming of spring, this slide might well continue. There was no indication last February that Freedom Leisure were suffering unduly from energy costs, so the improvement in prices may well have helped to partially remove the main stumbling block to putting the pool back into use. But the report from the coming meeting on Thursday may well reveal more.
Some of our readers may be aware of rumours circulating that East Sussex County Council (ESCC), which owns the land on which the leisure centre is built, are considering an alternative use as housing. Rye News has asked Cllr Keith Glazier, Rye’s representative at ESCC, if there is any truth in this and he has advised that there are no plans to look at other uses for the site, no discussions on this have taken place, the land remains as a leisure centre with Freedom Leisure contracted by Rother to run it.
Levelling up
A number of our readers have commented on the recent award to Rother District Council (RDC) of £19 million by the Levelling Up Fund to assist with improvements in the Sidley area of Bexhill and (the majority of it) to go towards a total of £23 million to be spent on the De La Warr pavilion which, over the years, has already swallowed considerable sums of council tax payers money. Elsewhere in the paper this week a Rother councillor tells us how this will be of benefit to Rye. Readers may, or may not, agree with him.
Of somewhat greater concern is that our town council were not aware of Rother’s application to the fund. Town and parish councils, such as Rye, are not themselves eligible to apply and this needs to be done at district level. Rye, too, has its own areas of deprivation which are officially recognised as such and had Rye Town Council been aware that an application was being considered, it is not inconceivable that they might have wished to put forward a scheme of their own to join the Bexhill bid.
We have two councillors representing the interests of Rye and Winchelsea at RDC. They would have known what was happening and it should have been their job to keep the town council informed. They failed to do this. It should also be noted that they are also expected to attend town council meetings to report on any relevant activity at Rother. At the council meeting held on Monday, January 23, neither turned up. Cllr Stevens claimed to be too busy while nothing at all was heard from Cllr Norton.
There is due to be a third round of bidding for a share of the Levelling Up Fund and thanks to information about this given to them by Rye News, our town council at least now has the opportunity to consider whether an application via Rother for funds to assist our own community would be appropriate or possible.
And finally…
We reported last week on the decision of Hasting Council to cease support for the annual town criers championship. We understand that this is still the subject of some discussion in Hastings, but should the plan to abandon it go ahead, our town council have agreed that Rye will offer to take it on. The Hastings National Town Criers Championships would then become the Rye National Town Criers Championships. More news on this as we get it.
Image Credits: Ryr News library .
First things first. Cllr Genette Stevens was too busy to attend the 23 January Town Council meeting because she was attending Rother’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee, though not a member. Cllr Norton’s attendance record is excellent, even if he missed this RTC meeting.
As I mentioned in my opinion piece on Levelling Up the running costs of the Rye Pool were simply not eligible for that grant. More generally I am quite sure the Rye Town Council has heard of Levelling Up. A bid would require enormous resources of time and energy in addition to a suitable project.
I’m not going to interfere in Rye affairs, but would welcome any Rye proposals and note that Levelling Up is not the only source of grant funding. Rother’s website is helpful and Rother Voluntary Action can advise. There is also the Rural Funding Network – but I’m just scraping the surface and I am certain the Town Council knows this already. Rother Ward councillors will be more than happy to help.
If the pool reopens it will be a miracle, I have absolutely no confidence in the elected Councillors to achieve this. There seems to be something fishy going on between those that control such events and I wonder who will profit out of it in the end?
That pool helped me get my fitness back and I would still be attending regularly twice or three times a week, but apparently my needs as a resident of this area are of little consequence, I feel totally let down by ‘those in charge’.
Remember it was Freedom Leisure who closed the pool due to vastly increased energy costs. No one at Rother, let alone the elected councillors of any party or none, wanted it to close. Central government is not willing to help pools, despite Sally-Ann Hart MP’s attempts.
There has to be a viable plan before the pool can reopen and Rother is working with Rye Town Council and FL to achieve that.
I miss swimming very much at the Rye pool, along with many, many other locals.
It is unbelievable that our children have been deprived of such an essential amenity so they now cannot learn to swim.
Let’s hope it doesn’t result in a surge of drowning accidents in this seaside area where we are surrounded by many local ponds, rivers and waterways.
Maybe the Rye Partnership could come to the pools rescue, as they have funds for all worthwhile projects around the town,and this is for the wellbeing of the community, especially as they wasted about the same amount, nearly 100k on clearing a site,for a community library, which was never built.
John Minter,
Your letter was very encouraging and I applaud all the efforts that are begining made to get the Rye pool open again.
I like many others miss swimming 2/3 times a weeks especially in this hot weather. As everyone is aware cooling off ones core temperature is vital for older people to keep them fit and well.
If only solar panels could be fitted!!!!
Not everyone can get to the beach.
Perhaps Southern Water should Sponsor/Fund Rye pool. This would be an excellent gesture that would go a long way to rebuild their reputation. Pay back for sewage spills spoiling our swimming in the sea and the recent water shortage that is being handled very badly.