News of more Isle of Wight council cuts reach us this morning.
Several VB readers have been in touch to say that when using Waterside Pool in Ryde today, they were told that the pool would be closing.
Apparently, staff have been told that they face redundancy in early 2011.
As one reader told us, “I am sure feelings will run high amongst Ryde residents who will be reluctant to travel to other facilities, particularly the senior users who rely on the aqua-fit sessions for their well being.”
If you’ve heard of any other closures get in touch so we can share it with our readers.
We’ll write to the council to seek confirmation of this claim and update the article once we hear back.
Update: We wrote to the council to ask whether the news was true and this was their response.
IW Council chief executive Steve Beynon, said: “Because of the current economic climate and the subsequent large reduction in money made available to local authorities, the council will have to save ÂŁ32 million pound over the next four years. Around ÂŁ17 million of this will need to be saved in the first year. As a result, the council is looking across all its services to see whether they can be delivered more efficiently.
“Both the library service and the Waterside Pool are part of this process. At the moment however, no decisions have been taken. The way forward will be discussed by the council’s Cabinet on 7 December 2010.
“The papers for that meeting will be published on the council’s website www.iwight.com by 5.00pm on 29 November. While we cannot until that time say what those papers will recommend – nor, of course, what Cabinet will decide – it is clear that “no change”Âť will not be an option due to the financial constraints placed upon the council. The Cabinet’s decisions will then be the subject of public consultation.
“While this is clearly an unsettling time for staff and residents, the council will explore every possible opportunity and partnership arrangement to maintain as many services as possible within its greatly reduced budget.”Âť
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