Sir – I read in the letter last week that 12,000 people have signed the petition to save Temple Cowley Pool. I agree with the writer: if that is not enough to halt these plans then the principle of democracy itself is at risk.


If the council pushes ahead with its plans in the face of such opposition, then the risk to our local community goes far beyond the bricks and mortar. It erodes the belief that what we think and say matters.


I remember being on the march in London which opposed the Iraq invasion after 9/11 — the mood was that it was simply impossible for it to be ignored.
It was a march made up of ordinary people who wouldn’t usually get involved in protests. But it was ignored and the powers that be carried on regardless, and I would say that our democracy is weaker today as a result. If there is a group of 12,000 people who have an idea about how to use this  public utility, they must be listened to.


And if another pool is needed in Blackbird Leys as well, why not build something smaller and more affordable?


Local solutions with local support make local people happy and that is what the council should always be aiming for. Most people are happy to live quietly without mega-projects and the council should respect this basic human need.
David Shorten, Oxford