Question mark over Exeter swimming pool's future

Northbrook pool in peril as city council grapples with budget

Exeter households will pay 10p a week more for services including waste collection, parks and planning in the coming year after the city council agreed a ‘challenging’ new budget.

“I think that’s pretty good value for a city that does so much,” said council leader Phil Bialyk (Lab, Exwick).

But a question mark hangs over the future of one of the city's swimming pools, Northbrook, as the council works to make ends meet.

After a debate lasting nearly three hours, councillors agreed to increase its share of the council tax bill by 2.99 per cent, an increase of £5.39 a year to make an annual charge of £185.76 for a typical Band D property.

Cllr Bialyk explained that the total bill of £2,380 faced by city households was made up of £1,801 to Devon County Council, £288 for police, £105 for firefighters and Exeter City council’s share, which amounted to just 7.8 per cent of the total.

But, he said: “It has been a challenge to maintain services. We would like to do more, but we have to be sensible with residents’ money.

Cllr Bialyk said the council had been grappling with a £3.5 million shortfall, and tough decisions had to be made.

Among them, the council will look at the future of Northbrook Swimming Pool. Despite improvements, usage has been low, with little improvement in revenue.

With savings needed from the leisure budget, Cllr Bialyk went on: “The future management of the building by Exeter City Council has become unsustainable.

“It is very disappointing that it has come to this. We would like to keep funding the facility, but we do have two exceptional swimming pools in very close proximity.”

He promised full consultation with local people before any decision is made, and raised the possibility of a local school taking over the pool.

The council’s progressive group, made up of Green and Liberal Democrat councillors, put forward their own budget proposals, only to see them voted down. They urged the council to commit £50,000 for the Citizens Advice service in the city, as well as outlining a biodiversity strategy and employing a scrutiny officer to hold the council’s executive to account and help secure value for money.

The Conservative group also proposed a budget which supported Citizens Advice with a grant while reducing the money given to the Exeter Phoenix arts centre and lowering car parking charges on Sundays. That was also rejected.

Cllr Bialyk said of the amendments: “You had all the right numbers, but not necessarily in the right order.”

A number of councillors also raised the issue of local government re-organisation. The government plans to overhaul council structures, and Exeter aims to become a 'unitary authority'.

Major changes will take place over the coming years, and progressive group co-leader Cllr Diana Moore (Green, St David’s) warned: “It will be a distraction and we need to be careful about how much money we spend on it.

“We have to make sure it doesn’t spiral out of control.”