It’s somewhat of a surprise to see that Lichfield was one of the few areas in the region which has apparently rejected the offer of money to fund free swimming from the Government.
At a time when the health of us Brits is causing major concern and when people are short of cash for leisure activities surely this incentive would have been a chance to kill two birds with one stone?
While the decision surprises me, at least one of the apparent reasons – according to the Express & Star report – is of little surprise.
It would seem that the decision to reject the funding was down to two reasons.
The first was the fact that the council would have had to foot the bill to continue free swimming once the two-year scheme had ended.
That’s an interesting one, but one which could be argued either way.
The second reason is that apparently free swimmers would overcrowd the city’s pools and drive existing swimming business away.
Is it really a business decision? Or does it have more to do with social snobbery as the paid-for swimmers don’t fancy sharing with the newcomers?
Considering the scheme is aimed at under 16s and the over 60s I’d have thought scope could have been found to include them in the schedule. These are, after all, key demographics when it comes to the need for physical exercise.
Although there are financial arguments over why the free swimming can’t be taken up in Lichfield, surely the benefits of such a scheme would outweigh the negatives?
