The idea of the swimming pool moving to the rec is a good idea. I'm not a fan of it being in a new building in the park incorporating the library because the building will need to be much bigger than it is now, plus car parking would be an issue.
The new leisure centre/ swimming pool/ library/ cafe will have to be bigger building, but there is sufficient space for it, it's in a more central location, and the good news is that it will not be as ugly as the present library building! It just couldn't be if it tried....... If a new swimming pool were built on the rec then the horrible library building would just carry on, and surely we don't want that, do we?
As for this:
There is so much green space in Marple, such as this and also the field where the college was, that just seem to be abandoned, unused and unloved.
Green space is something to treasure, not to complain about! The rec is only 'abandoned' because of ten years of government austerity drastically cutting back local authority funding. The rec used to have a playground. It's gone. It used to have public toilets. They have gone. It had a football pitch (or two?). It's gone. The ground was well drained and the grass was well cared for and mowed, but not any more. All because of cuts to council funding.
Throughout the UK, but especially away from London, public parks and open spaces have been sadly neglected in the past ten years, and that is not acceptable. The UK is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and we should be able to afford to properly maintain our public domain.
