Campaigning outside Elderslie swimming pool
Save Our Swimming Pools
Scottish Socialist Party, Renfrewshire Branch joined with local residents to launch new campaign to save Johnstone and Elderslie swimming pools.
At a council meeting on June 25th, Renfrewshire Council gave the green light to spending plans that will, if allowed to go ahead, see the closure of two swimming pools at Elderslie and Johnstone.
Residents and other users of these vital community facilities have reacted with fury and have vowed to fight the closures offering support to SSP Renfrewshire's campaign.
Local Elderslie man Gerry McCartney, along with activists Jimmy Kerr and Dougie Canning visited Elderslie Swimming Pool on Thursday and spoke to staff still reeling from disbelief and angry members of the community, gathering signatures to a petition calling on the SNP/Lib Dem led council to scrap the plans to shut the pools and invest money in these facilities instead.
On Saturday, Jimmy and Dougie joined up with local Johnstone resident Geoff Knowles to ask the residents of Johnstone what they thought of the plans. There was a predictable and almost overwhelming response, massively in favour of keeping the existing swimming pool.
The signatures on the petition now number well into the hundreds and SSP will be organising a local public meeting next week to discuss the best way to fight these closures