Tinwald Pool campaigner Tina Cox says she is not ready to ‘‘shut up and go away’’.
As the Tinwald Reserve Board considers low budget ideas to redevelop the site of the closed community swimming pool, Cox continues to fight for the cause.
She wants to see the pool reopened, or a smaller pool installed at the site.
The district council did not open the leaking facility last summer and permanently closed it earlier this year, despite a majority of submitters to its Long Term Plan wanting it to reopen.
‘‘I just feel they have brushed it under the carpet, and they are hoping that everybody will shut up and go away,’’ Cox said.
‘‘I just think the council have railroaded us again; they are not listening to the people at all.’’
She said three people had got in touch with her by email following a The Ashburton Courier story on her continued campaign in September.
She would soon be meeting with them and forming a plan ‘‘to see where we go from here’’.
She hoped more people would be in touch by email after reading this story, and ultimately a public meeting would be held.
Meanwhile, the reserve board, chaired by district councillor Leen Braam, has consulted with the public on how the site should be redeveloped.
The Tinwald Reserve Board in September asked the community for creative and innovating ideas about what the site should become, but did not specify a budget.
Braam clarified to The Ashburton Courier at the time, the district council funding available would only be in the tens of thousands of dollars. It was not up to $3 million, which is what would be required to bring back the pool.
Local Democracy Reporting reported this week the ideas from the public number about 40, and will be discussed at the next reserve board meeting.
The board would then need to go to the district council to get the funding for the redevelopment.
This was not likely to be available until the next Long Term Plan, in three years time.
* If you want to help Tina Cox bring back a Tinwald swimming pool, email her at [email protected]
