Is the Council Running Rings Round Neptune?
Manchester City Council announced their plans to close the popular swimming facility Neptune’s Kingdom (also known as “Gorton Tub”, the name under which the pool opened) and Miles Platting pool late last year. The Council plan to close Gorton Tub at the end of March. The council say that they want to “provide more sport and recreation opportunities for more people, more strategically and more cost effectively”. In reality the attempt to close of Gorton Tub is a cost-cutting measure. The Council aims to save £150,000 by shutting Gorton Tub and Miles Platting pools, according to their own budget document. Futuremore, the council say that they want to convert Gorton Tub into a “dry leisure” facility, possibly gymnastics, whereas they are investigating moving an existing gymnastics centre to the tub. The Council says that they cannot afford to keep the tub open, but the savings they anticipate are a tiny fraction of the money being spent on the Commonwealth Games only a short distance away
