Delays, Demolishing and Doubt
Medway Council have announced that the fate of Splashes Leisure centre will be decided at a Cabinet on the 8th June. During this meeting the cabinet will be asked to support the demolishing of the centre. Yet what is strikingly missing from the announcement is an official agreement to rebuild a leisure facility in its place. Their statement has no timeframe, no funding and no guarantee it will happen.
When the refurbishment of the old Splashes centre was announced with great fanfare by the Rainham Conservative Councillors back in 2020, the Medway Liberal Democrats fully supported the project. We understood the vital importance the centre plays for our communities in Rainham and Twydall. Everything from swimming lessons for children, to step free swimming for the elderly and infirm. It also provides excellent gym facilities for those who can't afford a private membership. We also understood that it was badly in need of refurbishment after years and years of neglect by this Conservative Council.
However, since that initial announcement the whole project has then been clouded in doubt and uncertainty. For months after the announcement there was no activity on the site. Then only a single line in the Council's annual budget, stating the project will not be going ahead at this time. Now we have an announcement stating that the building will be demolished but before the cabinet has agreed to fund a new building. None of these actions have instilled confidence in residents that they will have a new centre anytime soon.
Stuart Bourne, Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Rainham, says 'When I have spoken to people in Rainham about this, all I hear is that they are angry that they haven't got their much loved swimming pool and they fearful that the council are using these problems as an excuse to close the centre and build houses there. The communication of this project has been terrible. Residents have been left in the dark by the council and the local Rainham Councillors, who haven't been regularly updating their residents about what's going on.
The Medway Liberal Democrats are calling on Medway Council to be more open and transparent about what is going on with Splashes, giving the people of Rainham concrete plans on what is happening. The people deserve to know what the new timeframe for the project will be, and how much it will finally cost. We are also calling on them to run regular open forums for the local residents, where they will have the opportunity to question council officers, the portfolio holder and local councillors about what is currently going on.