Portsmouth council comes under fire over 'lack of democracy' on Pyramids decision

During a heated full council debate Portsmouth councillors from both the Conservative and Labour parties accused the Lib Dems of failing to be transparent over plans for the Pyramids Centre in Southsea.

Under the proposals, that were revealed last month, the pools will be replaced with a soft play offering and the gym will be upgraded at a cost of £2.5m

Opposition councillors believed a public consultation should have been conducted.

Tory Councillor Luke Stubbs said: 'The issue to me is not just about the actual decision but the way it's come around. This was sprung on us. As far as we knew everything was doing alright.

'And all of a sudden you were going to close everything. To me this is a case of decision first, announcement second and consultation not at all.'

His peer, Cllr Linda Symes, agreed. 'There's certainly no democracy here,' she said.

Cllr Tom Coles, of the Labour party, added: 'It is remarkable that such significant decisions about the provision of council services, and commitment of millions in taxpayer cash, can be made behind closed doors without any opportunity for formal input from other councillors or members of the public.

'In future, any such significant decisions should have appropriate engagement with users, residents and elected members prior to any decision taking place and especially before a press release is made public.'

During a full council meeting earlier this year £1.4m had been agreed to upgrade the slides in the pool.

However, council leader, Cllr Gerald Vernon-Jackson, said the pool was no longer financially viable.

He said: 'The figures from Swim England say one in five pools are at risk of closure. Fewer and fewer people are paying to go swimming. There's been a 20 per cent reduction in people going swimming in past years.

'We were looking at a pool losing £650,000 a year and we all know the financial pressure this council is under because the government has failed to make the cost met for Covid and compensate us for loss of income.

'We needed to find £1m in savings at the start of this year, now we're looking at £12m.

'In reality there's not a choice and going to consultation on something with people where there's no choice means we are not giving people a real choice.'

Cllr Hugh Mason added: 'Any consultation would have been a fake consultation. We do not have any alternatives for an efficient, solution.'

The council's leisure boss Cllr Steve Pitt explained the site was built in 1988 and was expected to last 30 years, and that it's current operator BH Live has lost £1.8m running it.

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