News
Lewisham Council statement following the public meeting on Forest Hill Pools on 21 August 2008
A Lewisham Council spokesperson said: “We were extremely pleased to see the meeting was so well attended. Around 200 people turned out.
“The meeting had already been arranged some weeks before we heard that Louise House had been listed. It was originally intended to give local residents an opportunity to air their views on the various options for the development of the pool site. Clearly, the news about Louise House means that the Council will now need to look again at the future development of the site and many of the questions raised at the meeting were related to how this announcement would affect the development.
“Lewisham’s Mayor and Cabinet are already scheduled to meet on 17 September to consider the findings of the formal consultation which ended on 8 August. The listing of Louise House will of course be another factor the Council will now need to take into consideration when deciding on how to move forward with the site development.
“We think it’s inevitable the listing of Louise House will now result in a slippage in the original timetable for the redevelopment of the pool site. However, we will continue to involve residents in any future deliberations and proposals and of course continue to fully support the stakeholders group that has been established to ensure that users of the facility will be happy with the final outcome.”
The current position
Forest Hill Pools are being redeveloped following a decision by the Mayor in February 2008. The proposal is to build a new pool, as well as dry fitness facilities and may include a new housing development on the Forest Hill Pool site.
click here to view the initial development options
Consulting on the new design
Results of the recent public consultation on the development options will be presented to the Mayor for a decision in Autumn 2008.
Historical features
A range of historical features from the façade and the building may be used within the new design to reflect the heritage of the area. An Historical Surveyor will be appointed to identify items of interest and the items will be isolated and stored for the build programme.
Ongoing communication
Local residents and interested organisations can be kept informed about the progress of the pool build programme through the council web site. In addition there will be regular pool updates posted at Forest Hill library on the notice board. There is also a growing email group listing who will be receiving briefings and updates and if you would like to be on that email group, please send an email stating that you want to be included on the Forest Hill Pool email group to annette.stead@lewisham.gov.uk.
Minutes of the Forest Hill Pools Stakeholder Group held on the 11 June 2008.