20 January 2010
Immediate release
 
LABOUR MSP AND PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE JOIN CALLS FOR LOCKERBIE SWIMMING POOL
 
Local MSP Elaine Murray and Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale's Parliamentary Candidate Claudia Beamish have joined calls for Tory and Lib Dem councillors to back the Lockerbie swimming pool project.

At a meeting of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Resources Committee on Thursday 14 January Labour was the only party to push for the project to go ahead.

Elaine Murray MSP said: "The case for a swimming pool in Lockerbie is a strong one and I fully support it. Lockerbie is larger than many towns in the region that do have a pool and so they rightly feel they deserve one.

"We heard a couple of weeks ago shocking obesity figures for children in Dumfries and Galloway and I see one of the best ways to tackle the obesity epidemic is good local provision of leisure services.

"A swimming pool in Lockerbie would also be a great way to get more people into the town from the surrounding area.

"Of course, we're in difficult economic times and no one is under any illusion a swimming pool comes cheaply. We're going to have to be innovative and explore funding options, sponsorship and planning gain. A Lockerbie swimming pool cannot come at the expense of facilities elsewhere in the region."

Elaine Murray was disappointed that at Dumfries and Galloway Council's Resources Committee on Thursday 14 January Labour was the only party to back the proposal.

"When the people of Lockerbie have worked so hard to fight for a pool it was a slap in the face that the Tories, SNP and Lib Dem councillors rejected their calls. They have dropped the project before it got off the ground. I am working with my Labour colleagues to try every avenue to turn around the decision."

Claudia Beamish, Labour’s Parliamentary Candidate for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale, is also a strong supporter of the project. She added:

"One of the key issues raised by people on the doorstep in Lockerbie is the swimming pool. I will continue to fight for it and have been working closely with Labour councillors to keep this project alive.

"The decision by the Tory and Lib Dems to turn their back on the pool has angered many in Lockerbie and I hope they will see sense and give the pool a fair hearing."
 
ENDS
 
CONTACT - ANDREW MACKENZIE 07769206856