AT a time when the coalition Government and opposition parties agree that spending cuts are necessary to reduce the massive deficit, isn’t it ironic that Cllr Ed Turner comes forward and says that the city can afford to build a new pool at Blackbird Leys.

We have been told that the council is budgeting for the scheme to cost £16.8m over 25 years of which £8.5m is the cost to build the new pool (Oxford Mail, October 26), which still leaves £8.3m outstanding.

It is still a horrendous bequest to leave for future generations even though some of this cost will be offset by capital receipts from the sale of Temple Cowley Pools.

Who will pay for the demolition costs? If it comes out from the sale of Temple Cowley Pools there is not going to be much left.

Also Temple Cowley Pools stands on recreational ground. Will it remain as an area for recreational activity? Will this be stipulated as a condition of sale?

It is a difficult choice – the pooling of all resources etc must clearly be defined before any action is taken. At the recent Core Strategy for Oxford examination, the appointed government inspector gave all contributors to the inquiry, the opportunity to say anything which needed to be aired before he closed the meeting.

As a representative of the Rose Hill Tenants’ and Residents’ Association, I said that I was pleased to see that the primary centre for the area was now recognised as being Cowley and not Blackbird Leys.

However, if the city council persisted in encouraging the movement of important functions to Blackbird Leys, the Core Strategy would be a worthless document.

VIM RODRIGO, Rivermead Road, Rose Hill, Oxford