Lambeth council today responded to a report on the Brixton Blog that Brixton Recreation Centre could be demolished.
A post on the borough’s official blog reiterated that the centre could be replaced with a “brand new 21st century” leisure facility under proposals laid out in its Future Brixton document.
The move follows a front page report in the Blog’s newspaper, the Brixton Bugle, this week.
The council statement said:
There has been speculation in the local press that Brixton Recreation Centre could be replaced by a new leisure centre in the future.
The story came about because Lambeth Council is currently consulting with local people on a new document that sets out what Brixton could look like over the next 10 to 15 years, what sort of changes local people and the council would like to see in the area, and what opportunities there might be to improve the town.
One of the things the document (called a supplementary planning document or SPD) considers is whether it may be possible to improve Brixton Recreation Centre or even replace it with a brand new 21st century leisure centre providing state of the art sports facilities in the heart of Brixton.
Although the initial consultation on the document is now closed, the council said it is “keen to gather as many views from local people about this.” To learn more visit www.lambeth.gov.uk/futurebrixton.
The Brixton Rec UserGroup (BRUG) is organizing a response to stop this closure. see Facebook.com/brixtonrecusergroup or email robyndasey@btinternet.com.
I hae been swimming at the Rec since the day it opened around 1984 and still believe it is the best pool and now the best wet side change room In South London. If Te new Clapham pool is ‘state of the art’, I for one find it hideously hot, overcrowded, change rooms too small and no privacy whatsoever with all men, women, and children in the same overcrowded space, mostly visible to al other swimmers.
re: Brixton Rec
I absolutely agree with R Scroggs. I have been pre-occupied by the news for the last week. Any suggestions of how we begin our challenge?
The excuse that the Brixton Rec has access problems is utterly spurious. What does it take to light a ramp properly? Almost all public buildings designed before the access for the disabled legislation came in have had to carry out adaptations, including listed buildings such as the British Museum.
This redevelopment cannot happen! It is an absolute insult for Lambeth Council to use the example of Streatham icerink’s redevelopment as a model for Brixton. Who is funding the building of new facilities at Streatham and who gets a new superstore into the bargain? Tesco! The Brixton community needs to understand how grave the threat is that Tesco will get planning permission for a new store, right in the heart of the market! We must fight this and start now. Don’t let the council hoodwink us with talk of improved facilities, this is about the selling off of public buildings and council services.