IT IS always encouraging to see the city council willing to correct misleading information and of course we naturally welcome the additional information provided by Councillor Rowley (Letters, May 23) in relation to the new pool being built at Blackbird Leys.

I would like to correct further misleading information that has been circulating around Oxford for some years; the new Blackbird Leys pool, however well insulated to modern standards, will not apparently be more energy efficient than the health and fitness centre we already have and want to keep at Temple Cowley. The city council’s forecast (forgive the techno-speak, ‘tonnes of CO2 equivalent’ is the industry jargon for measuring energy use – less is better) is that the new pool will emit 300 tonnes of CO2 equivalent each year (it will also ‘cost’ approximately 1,900 tonnes of CO2 equivalent to actually build). In contrast, the carbon emissions at Temple Cowley Pools for the same facility (and also the diving pool) are 180 tonnes of CO2 equivalent each year.

Oxford Mail:

The Save Temple Cowley Pools group held a consultation on its plans last month at Templars Square, Cowley.Eileen Juggins and Nigel Gibson from Save Temple Cowley Pools Campaign

If only all this and similar information had been available to the public when the council was considering whether to close Temple Cowley Pools, then perhaps a different decision might have resulted. Now, however, the council has had to recognise Temple Cowley Pools as an asset of community value and the community, through SaveTCP, CIC and the Save Temple Cowley Pools Campaign, is developing a bid to take over and operate the site.

We look forward to working with the city council to realise this value to the community and so enable health and fitness facilities to remain where people want and need to use them, in Temple Cowley.

NIGEL GIBSON

SaveTCP CIC & Save Temple Cowley Pools Campaign

Dene Road

Headington

Oxford

Today’s letters

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