A new swimming pool for Norwood is finally on the way!  At Lambeth Council’s cabinet meeting this evening Labour councillors unanimously agreed to secure the old Norwood Hall site for the new pool using Government funding made available earlier in the year.  The scheme now needs the backing of the NHS as they will part-fund it.  The site will also include a new health centre. 

Norwood has long felt like a forgotten corner of Lambeth.  In recent years that hasn’t been true – the current Deputy Leader of the Council, Jackie Meldrum, represents part of West Norwood and never rests from speaking up for the area!  However, it’s true that Norwood doesn’t have the kind of leisure facilities we see in other parts of Lambeth, and it will be good to get a brand new facility built there.

Labour’s already announced plans to upgrade leisure across the rest of the borough.  Waterloo will get a new pool and gym – as long as Boris Johnson’s City Hall Tories don’t succeed in blocking it because their friends in Westminster Council object to seeing the new building across the river.  Clapham will get a new pool, library and leisure centre.  Brixton’s already had a £3m upgrade to the Rec after we reversed Lib Dem and Tory plans to bulldoze it and sell off the site.  Streatham’s due to get a new leisure centre, pool and ice rink.  And in Kennington, we’ve saved the Old Lilian Baylis School site from Lib Dem plans to sell it off and it’s now a community sports hub. 

That leaves only West Norwood – so we were delighted to announce plans for their new swimming pool this evening.  The two people who have championed this scheme are Cllr Jackie Meldrum and local MP Tessa Jowell.   We’ll be pushing the NHS hard to agree their part of the funding because people in Norwood deserve a share in the high quality leisure facilities we’re building across the rest of Lambeth. 

Sketch showing the £14m Norwood Hall pool and health centre Labour's earmarked for West Norwood