Bath Place needs action not petitions

The Grandstanding Mummies are keen to “raise the profile” on the basis of blackguarding Warwickshire College. Their petition assumes that simply because the college provided Bath Place with a temporary home, rent free, two years ago, that necessarily translates into a right to hold on to it.

It is certainly true that Leamington will be the poorer if Bath Place fails. Its range of programmes, services and resources are a very practical example of a community venture. That is why neither district nor county councils, nor our MP, can afford to be spectators as this unwinds. Of course we are in a period of austerity, but without the numerous volunteers of Bath Place the strain on council budgets would be all the sharper. And if Bath Place does not qualify as part of a “Big Society”, what does ?

Negotiations on properties are rarely swift and no doubt councils have a complex task to review their assets. Maybe talking to Bath Place has sometimes been frustrating. But we must remember that they were burned out of their previous home through no fault of their own. No solution has been arrived at in over two years and now time is short. Surely what is urgently needed is neither petitions nor excuses but determined action to come up with a workable site for Bath Place, and fast. - Richard Ashworth, chairman, The Leamington Society.