THE HEAD of leisure services in the borough has hit out at an opposition councillor trying to get swimming lesson fees frozen.
As previously reported in the Standard, Coun Carole Gandy has been calling on Redditch Borough Council to halt a 3.3 per cent rise in junior lessons from £60 to £62 for a ten-week course.
But Coun Phil mould, who is responsible for leisure including the town’s swimming pools, said Labour were only doing what the Conservatives – led by Coun Gandy – did when they were last in control.
He said in three years out of the four they led the borough, they had raised the price including a six per cent leap from 2010/11 to 2011/12.
Speaking at a full council meeting on Monday (December 8), he said: “Swimming lessons still continued, people still did it. It was still good value compared to neighbouring authorities and it still is.
“I find it very strange now when it comes to do exactly what Carole’s authority did three years out of four we are suddenly totally wrong.”
Coun Gandy said if the council was really serious about promoting swimming they would have free lessons and charge for general swimming for under 16s rather than the other way round.
Coun David Bush added: “It’s one of those fees we can put up because parents will pay. It’s the principle that we are not supporting parents to teach their children to swim.
“I think it’s far more important to teach people to swim rather than keep chipping away at the poor parents who are caring enough to teach their children to swim.”
