Medway News from Chatham, Kent, England • 20

20 Chatham Naws 3 February 1080 Chatham Rochei ter Gillingham NEWS MSAf II Strand pool saga takes a new twist Hpid Ottice 1 2 New Road Avenue Chatham ME4 6AT Tel Medway 41741 Telei: 265871 NSG002 Associated Kent Newspapers Ltd 1989 Farewell to A SSa A'K 8jT Ah hard-working who A spectacular demonstration is planned to publicize the campaign to save the Strand The Strand Action Group hopes enough supporters will gather at the pool on Sunday to link arms and encircle the site completely Immediately afterwards several members of the group will plunge into the River Medway regardless of the weather and the water temperature Chairman Mrs Jean Newman said the group had been delighted by messages of support from the public many of whom had taken the trouble to write to either her the newspapers or their local councillors estimate that it will take about 250 people to form a ring around the pool and we think it should not be too difficult to get that sort of number there on she said Protesters will gather at the Strand at noon with the river plunge at 1230 Gillingham Leisure Services Committee has already decided to recommend closure of the pool which was first opened about the turn of the century THE BITTER dispute over plans to close Gillingham's open-air swimming pool at the Strand took a new twist this week when the man once responsible for running I it claimed its fate was sealed more than four years ago Mr John Holloway hotly disputes that major repairs are needed to keep it open Mr Holloway worked at the pool between 1964 and 1976 and again from 1985 to 1987 most of the time hand-: ling the day-to-day running He says: feel that I am in a unique position to shed some light on the goings-on regarding the proposed down of this wonderful Mr Holloway an ornithologist and artist who now lives on the Orkney Islands says: 1984 the leisure ser-: vices department instigated a study to determine whether there was demand for a pool at Rainham seen the questionnaire used in this study it is quite dear that the questions were put in such a way that there could only be one answer yes there is a demand that moment I believe the fate of the Strand was sealed In fact returning to my job at the pool in 1985 I was told quite emphatically that the pool would close in 1987 by which time the pool at Rainham should have been in Mr Holloway says the department produced in 1984 a glossy brochure advertising the whole Strand site for sale and many leisure companies were sent copies But for various reasons including problems over public rights of way nobody took up the offer He now believes there is interest in developing the site for a public house and hotel am quite sure that the council wishes to sell the whole Strand site and use the proceeds to extend the Riv-: erside Country he says is a noble gesture but one which does not take into consideration the wishes of the He says the claim that untreated river water is seeping into the pool at high tide was non-' pool has been losing water for at least 30 years with the pressure of the pool water counteracting any pressure from the river at high tide samples for the public health department have always been collected from the very area where there is a saved Gills ROY WOOD had his faults He would no doubt admit that as chairman of Gillingham Football Club he sometimes said things in the heat of the moment which he later regretted He would also admit that when he took the reins at Priestfield Stadium he was in football parlance a novice But he learned perhaps the hard way that football can be one of the toughest professions in the world Roy Wood had almost three years in charge He inherited a financial nightmare and for a year and more fought off acrimonious attempts to oust him He has finally had enough and the announcement earlier this week that he is standing aside came as no real surprise to those close to him After all he has a business of his own to run and has a family Neither could have seen much of him because he has spent countless hours in meetings with directors financial advisers solicitors and in court Yet despite all the problems he maintained a certain dignity and in the end made a dignified exit His successor Medway businessman Martin Lukehurst got it right when he said that without Roy Wood's commitment the Gills would not have survived this far If there is a surprise it is that Mr Wood chose this moment to stand down After all the takeover attempts have been dropped and the club has recently launched a new share issue which it hopes will raise millions of pounds football problems have taken up far more time than I originally he said really took over my life There comes a time when you have to find a place once more for the other aspects of your Therein lie the reasons for a change at the top of Kent's only professional Football League club We wish Mr Lukehurst every success and hope that the new younger regime will get Gills back on the road to recovery If he shows the same commitment and dedication as his predecessor we believe the new chairman will in a few years' time be chairman of a healthy thriving football club will grant him that and it has been attempted to patch them up at the begining of the season But that was never satisfactory have sought advice on the filtration plant and the state of it is there for all to see A salient point is that the borough engineer stated in a report in 1984 that the plant was showing signs of many years' hard use and it was past its rated life several Mr Lavcrack disputes that attendance figures have not dropped Between 1982 and 1988 attendances have progressively fallen apart from a few minor deviations He adds that the wet and dry activities at the Black Lion complex arc run separately and running costs of the pool arc not buried in the figures to make subsidies look artificially low Attendance figures at the Black Lion pool have increased over the past two years he says Ted Connolly small amount of water seepage in through small cracks seepage in only occurs when the pool is empty during the close season Any bacteria would have shown up long ago on the health department records During my years at the pool the samples were always passed the health department often phoning the results of the water tests to me saying how excellent they Mr Holloway claims costly repairs are not needed merely a certain amount of patching-up every year He also says the filtration plant needs a small amount of maintenance and not major repairs as claimed by the council Mr Holloway disputes that attendances have fallen The maximum per session in his day was 1600 which he says is the same as the council's published maximum figure for a single session in 1988 He claims that the Black Lion Swimming Pool would lose far more money than the Strand if it were not subsidized by income from other activities at the complex But the claims have been denied strongly by Mr Philip Lavcrack chief officer for leisure services He says: did produce a brochure in accordance with the instruction of the Leisure Services Committee It that we were seeking to sell the Strand The brochure was a communication which provided details of all the facilities we had were trying to generate interest in the private sector for a partnership to invest in and improve and enhance facilities at the Strand" Mr Lavcrack says he has no knowledge of plans to build a pub and hotel at the Strand Regarding repairs needed to the pool Mr Lavcrack says: "Mr Holloway is not an engineer he is an ornithologist and an artist He cannot state that all it needs is a little bit of patching up because cracks in the pool arc worsening every year have always been cracks I Students who gave up their spare time to prove a point insp Norman Parry Mr Ledger White Mr Keith Hopkins Mrs Mary Clark each other when the going got tough All of her family including son Jeremy 14) arc delighted with her achievement Mrs Clark said: Open University has broadened my outlook It is interesting to look back and sec how much I have Bank clerk Mr Keith Hopkins made good use of his time spent commuting to Uindon He studied a technology course including mathematics economics decisionmaking in the UK and management and organization Mr Hopkins (40) of Lombardy Close Hempstead also studied in his lunch hours Mr Ledger White (43) of The Street Lower Halstow has gained a BA honours degree after studying a variety of subjects including computer sciences and general technology The degree represents a proud achievement because he failed O-levcl physics at school but has now passed eight Open University physics courses with distinction Mr White a systems analyst at Fisher Controls Strood said: "When I got married I had two O-Icvcls But my wife had been to Cambridge so I had something to catch up The other successful students are: Mrs Heather Liston (38) a teacher of Mailing Road Snod land (BA lions) Mrs Elizabeth Pell (37) an agent lor a local news paper of Lakewood Drive Wig- Twenty-two Medway students have gained degrees with the Open University They include a police inspector bank clerk and a mum who still found time to study although she was looking after her haemophiliac son Insp Norman Parry (41) who is based at Rochester police station has earned a BA in social sciences I and subjects studied included politics nuclear power and the development of London Docklands He has also studied the development of the police force the prison service hooliganism and the role women play in crime Insp Parry whose job involves looking after community services and helping juvenile offenders said: have been studying for four years and it has been very interesting and broadened my horizons spent between 12 and 15 hours a week studying and set aside two evenings a week and one of my days off It was a personal thing that I did for Norman Fifty-year-old Mrs Mary Clark of The Larches Higham had a full-time job looking after her haemophiliac son but found time to study when he went to a special school Now after six years' hard work she has gained a general arts degree She studied with a friend and they provided encouragement for morc (BA hons) Mrs Ann Andrews (42) video company proprietress of Bercngravc Lane Rainham Mr Dave Bolah (39) a nurse of Oak Terrace Waldcr-sladc Mr Karl Brcnchlcy (29) a mechanical engineer of Russctt Close Strood Mrs Dot Carrier (35) a part-time analystprogrammcr of York Avenue Gillingham Mr John Fuller (46) a marine surveyor of Bushmcadow Road Rainham Mr Peter Morrison (31) a telecommunications technician with the Army of McKenzie Road Walderslade Mrs Janet Munday (28) a senior library assistant of Polhill Drive Walderslade Mrs Jean Park (41 an administrator ol a charitable trust ol Brompton Farm Road Strood Mr Alan Parris (28) a software engineer of Church Street Burham Mrs Anne Phipps (41) an assembler of diesel systems of Barnsolc Road Gillingham Mrs Val Ritchie (38) a teacher of Albert Road Rochester Mrs Patricia Salter a museum assistant of High Street Rochester Mrs Patricia Stokes (48) a home care manager for the social services of Ajax Road Rochester Mr Trevor Wallis (49) a meteorologist of Church Street Lower Higham Mr Stephen Mclnerney (45) a British Telecom maintenance manager of Llmstone Road Rainham and Mr Andrew Notley (41) a senior lecturer ol Dargets Road Walderslade.