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Cllr Keith Sedgwick |
‘Baths revamp becoming ego trip’ warning
A BACKBENCH councillor who refuses to listen to party whips has stirred up trouble for his own administration – again – by claiming grand plans for the Kentish Town swimming baths boil down to an ego trip for local politicians.
The latest row over the baths has been partly fuelled by the Town Hall’s refusal to put a limit on the money it is prepared to spend on refurbishing the Victorian building in Prince of Wales Road.
The joke doing the rounds at committee meetings is that the baths will become an open-air pool: because there is no ceiling. But concerns are mounting that costs of the project – agreed by all parties to be “risky” – could spiral out of control. Current costs are estimated at about £25 million, more than £2 million above initial quotes.
Conservative councillor Keith Sedgwick told a scrutiny committee last Tuesday that plans to refurbish the 100-year-old building were in danger of becoming a “monument to this administration’s ego”. He said: “We won the election on the basis of refurbishing the pool. So let’s do that. Let’s refurbish the pool. Why are we adding bits and pieces here and there and seeing the costs going up?”
Cllr Sedgwick added that the reason a consultation survey of swimmers was filled out by only a handful of pool users from ethnic minorities was because “not many Somalis are Lib Dems”.
The cost of the project, one of the few nationwide that will see Victorian baths restored, has been boosted by plans to expand fitness facilities.
The cost represents a huge chunk of council spending at a time when Camden is cutting back on staff and services.
Cllr Sedgwick’s outburst echoes criticism from the Labour ranks about the escalating costs. Labour leader Councillor Anna Stewart, whose party said the baths could be re-fitted for £14 million if the learner pool was sacrificed, said: “Contrary to what some people seem to think, we all welcome plans to refurbish the baths. But there are clearly a lot of risks associated with this project in terms of cost and it seems strange that there is no upper limit in terms of spending.”
While political opponents are raising the spectre of the £34-million bungled revamp of the Clissold Leisure Centre in Hackney, the ruling coalition are reminding Labour rivals of the overspend and delays in refurbishing Swiss Cottage leisure centre, a project that was mired in controversy.
Liberal Democrat ward councillor Ralph Scott said: “We know there are risks attached to the project but people should be welcoming the fact we are going ahead and refurbishing the baths. That’s what people wanted when they campaigned to save the baths last year.”
He added: “We are being open about this. In the past (under Labour), the cost of these projects would just go up and nobody would explain why.” |
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