LETTER: Goal posts moved in leisure plans

Horsham District Council has come up with another plan for the Broadbridge Heath Quadrant. All the plans include the pulling down of the Broadbridge Heath Leisure Centre – a building fulfilling a most useful purpose and with many years of intended (consider the foundations for example) and invaluable life left in it.

I am not here to write at length, although all those current users of the leisure centre deserve to have their facilities if not safeguarded at least replicated.

I wish to focus on just three areas of personal concern. The current building and site provide indoor and outdoor athletics facilities.

As a senior table tennis player I can personally vouch for the very high standard of facilities currently offered to us by the centre.

However the goal posts are moved in what seems like a juggling act of ‘development plans’ let us be sure we do not deny worthy sportsmen and sportswomen of their opportunities to live healthily and successfully.

The arrival is imminent of many more prospective leisure facility clients and pressure to realise commercial gain should not be allowed to blind HDC to the wider picture and the transparent needs of our citizens to have every encouragement to build high quality lifestyles and to dream of and realise sporting ambitions.

As a footnote I re-iterate my plea that the athletics murals depicting famous athletes on the walls of ‘The Tube’ be rescued from the rubble.

Public opinion has long been on-side in the defence of the habitats of rare wild species and likewise we should be aware of our responsibilities to preserve quality human artistic and historical achievement.

JOHN BROMHEAD

Kings Road, Horsham