EXPRESS readers have been voting in their droves on which public facilities they would like to see reinstated in Fylde.
And the majority say they would like to see St Annes' open air swimming pool back to its former glory on the seafront.
The readers' poll was launched on our internet website following a feature in last week's Express on the number of amenities which have been closed down by Fylde Council in recent years.
It followed news that St Annes' public baths are to be closed down in a cost-cutting exercise later this year.
Kirkham Baths have been given a one-year stay of execution, but face a similar fate in the long term.
Readers voted, in our website poll, to reinstate the following facilities:
- 25 per cent: St Annes open air baths
- 18 per cent: Wesham Council offices
- 16 per cent: Ashton Gardens greenhouses and Koi carp pool
- 12 per cent: Calder Close children's play area, Kirkham
- 11 per cent: Ashton Theatre in St Annes
- 10 per cent: Lytham swimming baths was sadly missed
- 8 per cent: voted for return of St Annes Citizens' Advice Bureau.
The decision to axe St Annes' baths was made at the recent Fylde Council budget meeting.
HERE'S a selection of your views on what you like - and dislike - about Fylde borough:
Dave Edwards, of St Annes, said: "The Fylde isn't that bad, really, although for the swimming pool to be built, only to be knocked down, seems like a waste of money and is a decision that could be avoided.
"There are no other activities in St Annes, which is why the news of the baths has hit our community so hard.
"First, they were going to close Kirkham baths, then they left them open. Now, we hear they are to close St Annes swimming baths. The whole idea is foolish when St Annes is promoted as a tourist resort, yet entertainment is slowly being taken away. The entertainment in St Annes is primarily aimed at holiday makers."
Fellow St Annes resident Mrs Walton said: "The council have ruined the town by destroying nice buildings and replacing them with flats.
"The centre is now so crowded with shops and cars that they should make it pedestrians only."
When asked what could be done to make St Annes better, Mrs Walton replied: "The only way would be to start from scratch and build the town up again."
Another St Annes resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "The swimming baths are a major concern, and comparing St. Annes to what it was like 30 to 40 years ago The Crescent is also a growing problem.
"When I was growing up, there were three or four traffic wardens on the bridge every morning. Nowadays, the same bridge is littered and chaotic," she added.
To improve St Annes, the resident called for "more parking and free parking, which would have a beneficial impact on the town".
Another local resident, Mrs Naylor, of Kilgrimol Gardens, St Annes, said: "The demolition of the Majestic Hotel was the first step towards wasting money."
She believes the closing of the swimming baths is taking it one step too far.
"The council don't seem to be spending their money wisely," she added.
When asked what could be done to improve St Annes, Mrs Naylor said: "They could reduce rates on shops and around the Crescent."
Kathleen Cryton, a visitor, from Manchester, said: "As a tourist myself, I feel that the shopping centre is good and located within a decent area."
But she added: "The only trouble I know of is yob culture, but that is not limited to St Annes."
George Rodgers, of St Annes, said: "I preferred St Annes Square as it was. The council won't improve it, they stopped listening to residents long ago."
Fellow resident Carol Sommers said of the baths closure decision: "I am not happy.
"Why would they build something to axe it? What a waste of money!
"They should keep the baths open to promote the idea of keeping children fit and healthy. When the St Annes baths close, the nearest ones will be Blackpool, and there are some families around here who do not drive."
Mrs Sommers added: "I do not drive, and therefore have no means of getting to Blackpool. My sons still use St Annes baths, at the ages of 24 and 26.
"It is just such a shame when useful amenities are closed off to you."
Mildred Nuttall, who was born and raised in St Annes, said "St Annes is nothing like the place it was.
"It is disappointing and depressing to look at so many flats and empty shops and for the council to close the baths where there is such a high level of tourism is just ridiculous."
When asked how the Fylde and St Annes could be better improved, Mrs Nuttall said: "Change the council, get rid of the lot."
David Tucker, a visitor from Blackpool, said of the swimming baths' closure plan: "The same thing happened in Blackpool, with Derby swimming baths.
"That was an Olympic sized pool, which held many events, but they too were turned into flats."
Mr Tucker added: "St Annes has never facilitated for its youth culture, an idea reinforced by the closing of the pool.
"To improve St Annes, the council needs to add more entertainment for locals, more youth clubs – and keep the baths open."CHANGES – THE FACTS
- St Annes' 600-seater Ashton Theatre, in Ashton Gardens, was destroyed by a fire in 1977. It was never rebuilt.
- Lytham baths was closed down in 1985 after a report revealed it required a £10,000 refurbishment.
- Children's play equipment at Calder Grove, Kirkham, was removed by Fylde Council several months ago and has not yet been returned nor replaced.
- Ashton Gardens' greenhouses, which first opened in the 1960s and housed a Koi carp pool, were closed down after Fylde Council claimed "more efficient and cost effective means of providing bedding plants" for the borough had been identified.
- Wesham council offices closed down some two years ago.
- St Annes Citizens' Advice Bureau was closed down in a cost-cutting bid, which meant the nearest CAB for local residents was Kirkham.
- Kirkham's One Stop Shop council offices are set to close in the near future.
- St Annes' open air baths, which opened in 1916, closed down in 1988, laid derelict until 1992 and was then demolished.
- Plans to spend around £5m on a new town hall for Fylde Council are in the pipeline, despite cuts being made in other areas, including closing down St Annes baths to save money.
The full article contains 1111 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
