GLASGOW 'S GOVANHILL POOL: SOUTHSIDE
AGAINST CLOSURE
Violence and Aggression
by the Council
The Council Vote Yes, The
Public Vote No
Not All of Council Agree
or Were Aware
Pool Users
Community Disdain
What Consultation
Council Ignores all Arguments Against Keeping
Pool Open
Public Meetings
Web Site
12,000 Signatures on a Petition Against Closure
Haves and Have Nots
£21.5 million to Glasgow for sport and recreation
Send Your Views to Councillor
Sportscotland
What are we doing
The BBC
The Peoples Demands
More Links
Violence and Aggression by Council
SO THEY CLOSE PEOPLE'S POOLS DON'T THEY!
On 29th MARCH an officer of GLASGOW CITY COUNCIL (JOHN SWANSON) and his assistant (ANDREW URQUHART) initiated a dawn raid at the Govanhill pool. They ordered a van full of council workmen council workmen to smash their way into the building with sledge hammers without giving any warning should anyone have been behind the door. This has been a peaceful protest throughout yet the council continues it's violent and aggressive tactics. Each day a further escalation is mounted. Community anger is palpable. It is clear from many comments from the police on the scene that most totally disapprove of the council's actions.
On Wednesday 21st March Glasgow's Govanhill Pool: Southside Against Closure Campaign in collaboration with community members has reacted to Glasgow City Council's continued and utter disdain for the people of Govanhill and users of this pool - Community members and pool users have now formally occupied the pool in order to have the voice of the people heard. After peaceful and sensible negotiations with the police and the pool managers at 8-45pm a number of supporters now occupy the building and call on the Leader of the Council Charles Gordon to respond to the reasonable demands of users, the people of Govanhill and many more besides. These demands are: That the doors of Govanhill Pool remain open until a full consultation of the community and a full social audit of the impact of this closure takes place That the Council meet with the Campaign group, for them to put forward our vision for the future of Govanhill Pool. Local people will continue to occupy this pool. On Thursday 22nd March at 7pm there was a candlelight vigil outside the pool. 200 people turned up to sing against the dictatorial - the word used by former Lord Provost Peter McCann who proposes to invoke the Human Rights Act Against the Council - Glasgow City Council.
On Wednesday 22nd March CHARLES GORDON, leader of the council authorised that no food should be given to the occupiers. THE POLICE INTERVENED AND SAID THAT THEY WOULD NOT RATIFY OR CONDONE AN ENFORCED HUNGER STRIKE ! Still Gordon persisted and was finally over ruled by a police inspector on 23rd March Charles Gordon authorised no blankets, medical supplies or toiletries should be allowed into the building. Menacing private security guards employed by the council patrol, paid for with public money patrol the building. Council employee MR ANDREW URQUART continues to act on behalf of his superior, JOHN SWANSON (HEAD OF LEISURE SPORT AND RECREATION) insisting on what are seen to be trivial demands.
On 28th March the security guards refused entry to a doctor to check on the health of the occupants. They continued to stop anything going in except food and water.
Council Vote Yes, The Public Vote No.
On 29th March a door had been smashed in by the council, authorised by Cllr Charles Gordon. The excuse being that there were dangerous chemicals inside and the pool was to be emptied of water. The police assured the protester that was all that would be done. However, whilst inside, the council officers proceeded to shut off all the heat and tried to shut off all the lights. The police chief inspector stopped that. It is very clear as support floods in for this campaign that the people of Glasgow totally disapprove of the councils' closure of this pool and recreation facilities. In a Glasgow evening times telephone poll 95% voted to keep the pool open. The council offer no argument and have failed to properly explain their position or release appropriate data to justify their action. On radio broadcasts and in the press no defence is offered. The only argument is that "THE COUNCIL VOTED FOR THIS UNANIMOUSLY". Well it did but the council is 95% Labour, ironically 95% of the public voted NO! It is self evidently an abuse of power, a mockery of democracy and the will of the people. The press in Scotland now follow this story daily. The Glasgow Evening Times included an editorial condemning the Labour leader for not talking to the protesters. But still the council ignores the clear feelings of the people.
Not All of Council Agree or Were Aware
Also Cllr ARCHIE GRAHAM (CONVENOR OF THE COUNCIL'S SOCIAL INCLUSION COMMITTEE) in an unguarded moment said to a campaigner, "you know, the fact is, many Councillors did not know that this closure was in the budget until it was too late, I myself live in the area and I think that it is a fine place, it is a great shame to lose it". Three other councillors (Labour) have now said to us, "we can't vote against Charlie, what he says goes" ! Another two, who are on the Committee that closed the pools have said they had no idea that it was closing until the budget was announced. Another on the Committee said, "that decision was taken two years ago" !. What on earth is going on ?
LEADER GORDON is telling the press that the decision to close the pool was unanimous in the Council. We now know that many members of the Cultural and Leisure Services Committee had never seen the paperwork involved. This is a Committee of 35 people where only 9 are required for a quorum. What sort of social justice is this COUNCILLOR ARCHIE GRAHAM many people are asking ! After weeks of arguing that "full consultation has taken place". LEADER GORDON has now admitted to the press that no local consultation on the southside of Glasgow or pool users has ever taken place,. What sort social justice is this ? Grand plans for the majority who can travel - exclusion for most people in Govanhill where one person in four has a car and life expectancy runs at 5 years less on average than the rest of the UK ! On Saturday 17th March 600 people marched the streets of Govanhill to a rally addressed by a cross party group of MP's and Scottish MP's. David Marshall MP and MSP's Nicola Sturgeon, Tommy Sheridan, David Brown and Dorothy Grace Elder.
They all roundly condemned and decried the decision to close the pool by the Labour dominated council (only 4 opposition in 70 or so!). CHARLES GORDON, LEADER OF THE COUNCIL, an "old Labour socialist and proud of it" he said in the recent Council budget meeting, still refuses to respond, even to acknowledge correspondence from this Campaign group. Letters continue to flood in to the Council and it steadfastly refuses to enter into any dialogue. Is this democracy ?
Glasgow City Council's Labour dominated Council has opted to close Govanhill Swimming Pool and Recreation Centre. This Edwardian Baroque Pool is housed in a listed building and set in an urban multiracial, multi- religious, community beset with social problems. Without any consultation with pool users or the community the Council announce the closure of the pool giving the people just three weeks notice. This disdain for such a community is completely at odds and undermines the Scottish parliaments major policies on social justice, inclusion and equity.
PETITION IGNORED BY ARROGANT COUNCIL. In just a few days in January the Campaign gathered 12,000 signatures against the closure. The Scottish Parliament sent this petition to the Council and it was ignored.
Many swimming clubs use the pool. The Kingston Club - the only multiracial swimming club in Glasgow which is hugely successful and has been going for over 100 years!!!. At least a half of the 200 members will not be able to continue in the enforced arrangements to go swim in a pool 4 miles away. The Queen's Park adult learners club caters for learners and those with disabilities or those recommended to swim on health grounds by GP's. The Govanhill Amateur Swimming Club caters for family swims and teaching children in the community to swim - it has been in existence for 65 years. Asian men and women swimming clubs, facilities for Jewish swimmers and children with special needs. All of this will be swept away because the facilities that are being offered in their place are totally inappropriate.
Above all there are thousands of regular users (averaging around 120,00 per year over the last few years) whose views have simply been ignored.
A two year old consultation document is the basis for this closure, Sport for Life for You. It is out of date, it closed another well loved southside of Glasgow Pool , Pollokshaws Pool, and it fails to identify a social inclusion agenda. It promised a review of Govanhill Pool two years ago. This has never properly taken place. If it had why else would such community anger exist ? We ask therefore, has a review really taken place ? How was the community consulted ? Do the procedures adopted contravene the Council's own Codes of Conduct in respect of Integrity, Openness, Objectivity and Leadership ? We think not. We shall see what the Council's solicitor and monitoring officer Ian Drummond makes of our formal complaints under this Code. (See WHAT ARE WE DOING BELOW) ILLEGAL CLOSURE OF THE POOL ?
Nevertheless, COUNCILLOR GORDON issued a letter closing the pool as from 31st March. It contains serious inaccuracies and is misleading. IT MAKES NO ATTEMPT WHATSOEVER TO JUSTIFY THE CLOSURE. HIS LETTER AND OUR RESPONSE ARE AVAILABLE FROM saveourpool@aol.com or can be viewed in our letters page.
REFUSAL TO GIVE INFORMATION BY COUNCIL. This group has made repeated attempts to access the detailed reasons for this closure and they are not forthcoming. Indeed, in February COUNCILLOR GORDON said to the press it would cost £750,000 to refurbish the pool. In March BAILLE LIZ CAMERON, THE CONVENOR OF THE CULTURAL AND LEISURE SERVICES COMMITTEE said that it would cost £3.5M and last week another officer said to the press that it would cost £3M.
No one will give any official estimates or say how these vastly different estimates have been arrived at. This is why we say the Council treats the people with disdain ! Quite properly under these circumstances many people are asking if the Council is hiding something. Does it want to sell the building for something else. A member of staff from the Department of Cultural and Leisure Services said on March 21st at a public meeting in Glasgow City Chambers, " Oh yes the plan is to sell the building".
WHAT'S HAPPENING ?
COUNCIL IGNORES ALL ARGUMENTS AGAINST KEEPING POOL OPEN
COUNCILLOR CHARLES GORDON via his Cultural and Leisure Services Department, headed by BRIDGET MCCONNELL and her key officers in this decision - IAN HOOPER and JOHN SWANSON, together with its elected member Committee, convened by BAILLE LIZ CAMERON, gave the community and the Southside of Glasgow just 14 working days to respond to this closure proposal that was sprung on the community on 17th January. No formal announcement was made. It came to light in the Council's annual budget proposals that were not made available to the community with a snippet in the press about the proposed closure.
In fact it has transpired that the Council made this decision in October
2000 and told no-one.
Local Labour Councillors although aware of the proposed closure simply kept
quiet. No assistance has been given to the community or users to argue a case
against closure and the only "offer" is to relocate and "direct" users to "state
of the art" pools 3 and 4 miles away.
It has repeatedly been made clear by the local community and the pool's user's that this is totally unacceptable for a large number of reasons. Safety, cost, public transport availability, convenience and preference being a few. Letters that council officers and elected members have written have been published for the public meeting and were described variously as, "patronising", "out of touch" and "offensive".
Councillors and officers so far (as at 03.03.01) have refused to make public
the detailed reasons for the proposed closure.
This is in spite of the fact that they have been asked twice in writing and
twice by telephone.
PUBLIC MEETINGS
At two public meetings each attended by over 100 people, outrage was expressed
about the manner in which the Council has treated the community and about the
fact that no councillor would attend the meeting even given 10 days notice,
nor could those responsible send a delegate.
WEB SITE
This web-site is a part of a campaign to stop this closure.
12,000 Signatures on a Petition
Against Closure.
12,000 signatures from people in the community and across the Southside of Glasgow
have been collected for a petition to the Scottish Parliament's Petitions Committee.
The Ombudsman has been contacted. Public meetings are being held, demonstrations,
letter writing and an E-mail campaign spearheaded by this Website. An organising
committee plans further work on the matter.(SEE STOP PRESS ABOVE.) Six local
Members of the Scottish Parliament and Westminster Parliament back the campaign,
cross party. They are, David Marshall MP, Lab, Dorothy Grace Elder SMP, Tommy
Sheridan MSP SSP, Gordon Jackson MSP Lab. David Brown MSP Lib. Nicola Sturgeon
MSP, SNP. Jackson and Marshall have met with and written to CHARLES GORDON urging
a change of direction by the council. LEADER GORDON ignores them.
This is not just a local issue it is national and international. Politicians in most western countries are consistently allowing financial and business led concerns (and interests) to dictate their decisions about social matters. In many instances, as in this case further impoverishing communities and people in them. It is a part of a general pattern of closing down facilities in poor areas whilst pouring resources and funds into areas for the "better off". Glasgow is replete with such a development.
The world-wide gap between those who have and those who do not is growing greater
by the year by all evidence available - including Glasgow and the UK as a whole.
In Scotland recently it was announced that 39% of children lived below the official
poverty line and Glasgow sits at the heart of this poverty by all definitions.
More recently it was announced that Scottish children are more obese and more
likely to be hooked on drugs and alcohol than anywhere else in the UK yet Glasgow
insists on building its "state of the art" facilities where people cannot get
to them.
State of the art pools are being built with European and government money
and through sportscotland government money.
But do "Europe" and sportscotland know what some of the consequences actually
are for poorer communities in Glasgow ?
£21.5 million to Glasgow for sport and recreation
Sportscotland has given £21.5 million to Glasgow for sport and recreation facilities.
In the last two years it has produced major statements about the need to regenerate
communities and implement social inclusion strategies.
It has produced, in association with the Scottish Executive, the documents,"The
Role of Sport in Regenerating Deprived Communities" and, what it calls
"the settled will" of the Scottish people, in a document called Sport
21.
Both are replete with statements about social inclusion, health, recreation
and sport.
The Glasgow strategy of closing old pools and building new ones (with sportscotland
money) has ignored the advice and recommendations of its funders.
For example the document above states clearly, "ALL PROVIDERS SHOULD EVALUATE
CURRENT PROGRAMMES AND THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEY ARE ADDRESSING ALL ASPECTS OF
SOCIAL INCLUSION".
In the case of this pool closure Glasgow City Council has not done this.
The Labour Party and its Executive Group met on Tuesday February 5th when it discussed a proposal from the Council's Leisure and Recreation Services to close the pool. It went ahead and recommended closure. With breathtaking arrogance and disdain for democracy the LEADER CHARLES GORDON wrote that same day a letter announcing the closure as from 31st March. This letter was released three days before the council's formal budget meeting containing this proposal.
The council has NOT conducted a social audit as to the consequences of closure. It has ignored all of the research evidence about the need to keep local and recreational sports facilities open particularly in urban areas in a context of social inclusion. It can be easily demonstrated that the action to close runs counter to the council's own policies, Sportscotlands' targets on social inclusion, those of the Scottish Parliament, and Westminster Parliaments'. Guidelines and recent research on local Community consultation from the Scottish Parliaments Executive have been ignored.
The Labour Party comprises some 90% of the Council. The whole Council met on
February 8th and approved closure.
Though Councillor Gordon had done this three days earlier without its authority.
Anyone who has a vision and concern for the protection of people's right's in local communities (health, fitness and well-being) is welcome to join this campaign against closure. Click on Help Us.
If you can find time please send a message to the Leader of the Council,e-mail
- charles.gordon@councillors.glasgow.gov.uk
or write to,
Cllr Charles Gordon,
Glasgow City Chambers,
George Square
Glasgow,
Scotland UK,
Phone 0141 287 2000,
Fax 0141 287 5577 and send a copy to saveourpool@aol.com.
If you have time, send a message of your own, if not cut and paste the following
(or adapt as you think fit).
If you have any thoughts or ideas about the matter please send them to saveourpool@aol.com
which can be considered for posting on this site.
Dear Cllr Charles Gordon (Glasgow Council Leader Scotland, UK) I am writing
to you in support of the Glasgow Govanhill Pool: Southside Against Closure campaign.
I/we urge you to allocate appropriate funding to keep this valuable community
resource open in the interests of the health, fitness and well being of the
local people, citizens of Glasgow, your own and national policies on Social
Justice, Inclusion and Equity and thereby the good name of the City of Glasgow
Council.
Yours sincerely etc. etc.
Sportscotland invite comment on its work and strategies, negative or
positive.
It transpires that even though it has given Glasgow £21.5M for sport and recreational
services and has a raft of social inclusion targets, it says (24.02.01) it has
no power or teeth with which to audit and monitor the services its money provides.
Can it be right that £21.5M of taxpayers money can be given to a local authority
and there is no accountability to the funders or the public in terms of targets
and objectives ?
What sportscotland does say though, as a key target is that; "there is a major need to address 'adequacy of provision' - it must be addressed with urgency and approaches applied consistently" sport21, p.9 (see web site).
WHAT IS ADEQUACY OF PROVISION ? WHO MEASURES THIS ?
It sets as a key target, "conduct a comprehensive survey of local authority
spending on sport and recreation within the context of the full expenditure
on sport and recreation in Scotland" WHEN WILL THIS BE DONE ?
It calls for research into participation in sport by people from ethnic minorities.
Govanhill is a multiracial area, Glasgow City Council has completely ignored
consultation with the black and ethnic minority community except, as with others,
to tell them to go elsewhere - to completely unsatisfactory facilities.
This failure to consult would be defined by MacPherson as institutional racism!
All these matters beg many crucial questions should have been addressed before
this pool was allowed to close and we call on Sportscotland, key funders
of the Glasgow strategy to close Govanhill Pool, to intervene and address these
matters URGENTLY.
Sportscotland also has at the top of its agenda in sport 21, Social
Inclusion. It says, "social inclusion is about more than simply increasing
participation in sport" and, "the complexity of social inclusion
needs to be understood more fully in sport"
Glasgow City Council is ignoring these dimensions as it closes Govanhill Pool.
IT MAKES NO REFERENCE WHATSOEVER IN STATEMENTS ABOUT CLOSING THE POOL ABOUT
THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON SOCIAL INCLUSION AND THE CREATION OF SOCIAL EXCLUSION.
We urge you to contact the Chief Executive of sportscotland and seek clarifications
and justifications for the reasons why Glasgow City Council's strategy runs
counter to these targets, intentions and and recommendations. He is:
Ian Robson,
Caledonia House,
South Gyle,
Edinburgh, EH12 9DQ.
Tel:0131 317 7200,
EMail, ian.robson@sportscotland.org.uk
and send a copy to contact us. 
Apart from what has been mentioned above, an action group of 40 people drawn
from all parts and dimensions of the Govanhill and Southside community has been
formed.
In the disgracefully short time it has been given to react to this closure,
it has engaged with and will continue to engage with a range of actions. The
southside will not give up this part of Glasgow's heritage without serious resistance.
Please get in touch by E-mail at saveourpool@aol.com
if you want more information or advice on what you can do. You are welcome to
add any comments to the Discussion
Forum.
On 24.02.01 the BBC investigative programme, YOU AND YOURS examined the issue of pool closures across the UK using Govanhill and a Manchester pools as key examples of Labour controlled local authorities refusing to listen to what people want.
The positions and arguments represented in this Web Site were clearly articulated
by Cath Sinclair. Bailie Liz Cameron for Glasgow, the convener of the committee
that recommended closure, suggested that there would not be a problem if those
who objected had used the pool.
She failed to mention how her council has deliberately run down the pool and
she failed to mention that a colleague of hers had told the Scotsman newspaper
(published 9.02.01) that her council had earmarked the pool for closure "years
ago". The public were not told of this.
She failed to mention that the pool is 4th highest in revenue collection in
Glasgow pools.
We have published a 40 page investigative Dossier into the Council's procedures
and processes in closing this pool, Sport for Life for Who?
Available from saveourpool@aol.com
or download here
We have placed a formal complaint of maladministration before the local Government
Ombudsman and to the Council's own Monitoring Officer and Solicitor, Ian Drummond.
The whole case has been sent to the Scottish Parliament Ministers.
The Dossier demonstrates in great detail how the Council has totally ignored
issues of social inclusion, health, recreation, community regeneration and consultation
in this pool closure
It reveals that the Cultural and Leisure Services Department has not only failed
to demonstrate that it has collaborated with key Glasgow City Council Departments
in the Council over this closure, it has not done so either with key external
agencies, such as for example, the Glasgow Greater Health Board.
An lawyer, ex Lord Provost, Peter McCann, is exploring a particular case against the Council in terms of the Human Rights Act. The thrust of the arguments against the closure are:
1. Clear demand from the people of Govanhill and Southside of Glasgow (and thousands now signing the petition on the Northwest side) to keep the pool open and deep-seated anger about the manner in which the community is being and has been treated by the council and its' officers. It is disenfanrchisement and runs entirely counter to New Labour commitments.
2. Total failure on the part of Glasgow City Council Labour group to properly consult the community and the users involved about the proposed closure. (Many more have voted to keep the pool open than voted in the last local election in this area.)
3. Failure by Glasgow City Council to take on board the letter, spirit of their own people and national inclusion, social justice and equity policies in considering this matter in particular the ignoring of SPORTSCOTLAND and SPORT 21 policies.
4. Refusal by the professional officers to take a social audit of the likely outcome of this closure and suggesting a course of action based entirely on financial considerations and not the health, fitness and well being of this community. Failure of these officers to take note of SPORTSCOTLANDS statements in the last two years. .
5. Elected members not taking cognisance of how tax payers money is spent. Closing the pool will remove the recreational heart from a community inrelation to YOUTH, DRUG ADDICTION, CARE FOR THE ELDERLY, DISABLED, HEALTH, SOCIAL EXCLUSION and ISSUES OF RACE AND RACISM ISSUES. The long term costs far outweigh the cost of keeping the pool open - some estimate by many millions of pounds.
6. The council has sidelined completely its' own £3 million flagship anti-racist project (Glasgow anti-racist alliance) which has massive European and Scottish Executive funding. There has been no consultation about the pools closure with the projects' leader or the community outreach project - housed in Govanhill itself!
7. The closure will be seen as a profound illustration of institutionalised political and professional forms of discrimination. The working committee of 40 people is now progressing this campaign -
Please email us8. And most of all there is something morally wrong with a political party with an election looming to boast the promotion of "democratic Participation" when this issue clearly demonstrates the opposite - ruled by autocracy!
Those wanting more information or students of community education, politics,
community disenfranchisement and re-enfranchisement, sport/recreation/leisure
and social justice may want to look at the following sites.
They will connect you to the positions and arguments about regeneration, recreation.
Local communities, sport,social justice and community consultation. Judge for
yourself ! (more links follow)
SPORT CAN HELP SCOTS HURDLE SOCIAL: INCLUSION (BRANKIN)
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/news/2000/11/se2900.asp URBAN REGENERATION NEEDS A SPORTING CHANCE
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/news/2000/07/se2034.asp THE ROLE OF SPORT IN REGENERATING DEPRIVED COMMUNITIES
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/cru/resfinds/drt86-00asp SOCIAL JUSTICE...A SCOTLAND WHERE EVERYONE MATTERS
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library3/social/sjss-00.asp SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT REPORT (POLLOKSHAWS SPORTS CENTRE) http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/official_report/session99-00/or031407html ASSESSMENT OF INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TO TESTING COMMUNITY OPINION SEE Scottish Executive Web Site/Publications. 22nd December 2000