Madam, The complaint to the Town Council, reported in last week's Ross Gazette, about the lack of hot water for the showers at the Wilton Sports comes as no surprise. If a building receives no care, maintenance or investment it is inevitable that something will go wrong. The Sports Centre has been neglected for years and allowed to go to rack and ruin.
The Herefordshire Council says it has no money to spare for the much needed refurbishment of the building. However the Council has a duty to ensure that a building it owns is functional, complies with health and safety regulations, and is "fit for purpose". That transparently is not the case with the Sports Centre. For example the lack of proper facilities for the disabled is breaking the law. The Council will have no defence if there is some major disaster, as a result of its neglect, especially if someone is injured.
Since the Sports Federation was formed at the beginning of the year we have been urgently looking at what can be done. A special working party is examining several options to try and improve the situation. Progress is being made in looking for alternative sources of urgently needed funds, but it is a complicated situation and there appears to be no quick solution.
It would greatly help if the Herefordshire Council recognised that it is a problem that will not go away by ignoring it. Ross ratepayers can rightfully claim that their rates are not being properly utilised when the opportunity to provide acceptable sporting facilities for the town is not taken up.
Sending visiting teams home without being able to have a proper shower harms the reputation of Ross. It is also embarrassing for the home teams, who have to put up with a Centre that is simply not adequate to meet modern-day needs.
John Edwards, chairman of the Ross Sports and Leisure Federation