OWL table No Confidence Motion after Pool Closure Proposals Move Forward

Our West Lancashire have tabled a motion of No Confidence in Council Leader, Yvonne Gagen and Lead Member for Leisure, Carl Coughlan after Labour councillors voted last night to press forward with plans to close Park Pool in Ormskirk and Nye Bevan pool in Skelmersdale.

Labour councillors turned their face against the thousands of local residents who had objected to the possible pool closures and the hundreds who gathered in pouring rain outside to protest. 

Our West Lancashire councillors chatted with protesters before the meeting and voted to support residents against the closure proposals. 

OWL Group Chairman, Adrian Owens said, “This was a choice that the majority Labour group have consciously made.  Our West Lancashire have identified indicative alternative savings of close to half a million pounds without significant job losses and that would be our choice rather than the very real impact these closures will have on many thousands of residents each week.  As just one example, more than 2800 children a week learn to swim at the pools.  The fight to save our pools is certainly not over and OWL will work with others to campaign and demonstrate that there are other ways to deal with the financial issues the council faces.”

The long-serving councillor continued, “The decision to press on with the pool closure proposal is just the latest in the list of failures in relation to health and wellbeing from this council.  Many of our football pitches are unusable; community sports is neglected and there has been a repeated failure to deliver the Ormskirk-Burscough linear park for walking and cycling.  The Health and Wellbeing Strategy is in tatters and Our West Lancashire have tabled a motion of No Confidence in the Council Leader and Leisure Lead Member for debate at the December Council meeting as a result.”