Protesters outside the Department of Culture, Media and Sport

Dear Tessa, help us save your local pool from axe

Minister urged to intervene in row over future of Victorian baths
CULTURE minister Tessa Jowell has been urged to intervene in the row over the future of the threatened Prince of Wales Baths in Kentish Town.
Swimming pool campaigners handed over a 3,000-name petition at the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in Trafalgar Square on Tuesday afternoon.
Ms Jowell, who lives in Raveley Road, Kentish Town, was too busy to accept the petition calling for the future of the pool in Prince of Wales Road to be safeguarded for generations to come.
But Toby Sarjent, a senior civil servant in the department, accepted the petition on her behalf. He told protesters: “Thank you for coming down today. Tessa will see this petition.”
The Victorian pool is prone to boiler breakdowns and officials concede it will be forced to close sooner or later. The cheapest rescue package has been priced at £17 million but, despite a pledge by Labour councillors to carry out a refurbishment, no commitment to the spending has so far been given. Nor has the council released a breakdown of the estimated costs.
On Tuesday, campaigner Dr Ian Dungavell, the director of the Victorian Society who lives in Gospel Oak, said: “This is a national policy failing at a local level. The government has not recognised the importance of swimming in the community.
“I see men in the pool who must be in their 70s. I sometimes wonder whether I’m the only person who talks to them all day. It is a focal point for the community.”
The council is still mulling over whether a new pool could be built at Talacre Sports Centre in Dalby Street, Kentish Town. Strategists believe this option could be cheaper and would free them to shut the Prince of Wales baths.
In an open letter to Ms Jowell, whose brother-in-law is Labour councillor John Mills, campaigners Phillip Thompson and Brenda Humphreys said: “We feel that as a resident in Kentish Town your voice could be the one to change the minds of Camden councillors.”
n Swimmers at Prince of Wales Baths are organising a Memories Day event. Organisers have asked people to leave messages at www.pool
memories.blogspot.com. Articles and photographs will be compiled for an exhibition on the pool.