The last I heard was that London is going to have a 320 million pound swimming pool for the Olympics. It is going to be an iconic structure. In translation, that means fancy and expensive. There are concerns that the wooden roof might warp in the humid environment.
Locally, there have been plans to have a new pool at Brighouse for many years. It was only when the roof fell in that plans materialised and residents there have been deprived of a pool for over two years.
Although the library and education office in Halifax were purpose-built 30 years ago, the Politburo in Calderdale have deemed that they should have "state of the art facilities" in new premises.
In Hebden Bridge, the Adult Education centre was closed with the loss of a useful learner pool.
Finally, in Elland we have a "state of the art" pool. Only problem is that it is "state of the art" for the 19th Century.
I admire the Victorian builders that were responsible for many fine buildings. I appreciate the efforts of the staff who keep the show on the road. However, the residents of Elland pay their share of income tax and council tax and should have a fair share of the expenditure.
Barry Crossland