I have just heard about the council blunder that damaged Ramsgate marina swimming pool so badly it could never be used again, and pieced together by talking one of the then councillors, the resulting cover up where the councillors were told that the damage was caused bomb during WW2 that had weakened the structure.Some bright council officer who decided to take the running of it from the borough engineers and give it to the councils leisure department caused it in the first instance.
The sceptical engineers handed it to the leisure department with a set of instructions about running and maintaining it, one of which was never to empty it without supporting the seaward facing side. This was because it was designed so the weight of the water inside counteracted the forces of the sea battering against it.
The first thing the leisure department did when they took it over was to empty it unsupported!
Nothinhg much changes then!
ReplyDeletemaybe it was a cunning plan to turn it into a car park. you never know
ReplyDeleteThey should put it back! I have got footage of it from the 1950's, the sound of laughter, fun and enjoyment! Now it it so sad.Fortunately I just about remember the Marina pool building, the entrance and the green metallic lift buy the side of the site! But I was to young to remember it with water in! As it were concreted over! I think in the mid-80's! My parents remember it well though! I always go down to the east-cliff anyway! as I find it fascinating, I also keep up-to-date with the Royal sands, pleasurama (past of) and the whole east cliff past in general! I went down to the Marina pool site last week to take video footage for a video on Ramsgate's leisure facilities (using old audio and new footage) and you can see a grassy patch where the the entrance used to be including a ghost graze where a set of stairs where (the on remaining remnant of ramsgate's top place! have a look at this site of marina pool photo's
ReplyDeletehttp://www.jvaughanphotography.co.uk/ramsgate-uk.html
They were taken not long after it was shut for good, dirty water, I have just completed a whole entire accurate, scaled computer model on the whole, ramsgate's east-cliff with the old pleasurama building, marina pool, the lift, the pav and granville theatre!
F/TH/03/1424
ReplyDeleteThis is an application that was applied to the council to use the former Nero's site as a training ground for children in carts, along with cafe's ,storage and offices (it's all talk and no action-the same story all over the country)!!!!!!!
I spent many a happy summer holiday in the 1970s with my brothers & sister at the Marina. As soon as school finished, we'd be begging my Mum & Dad to take us & off we'd go, with jam sandwiches & a bottle of orange squash to see us through the day.
ReplyDeleteSchool swimming lessons took place there, too - I can remember how daunting it was, aged 7, to do my 25 yard crawl for a certificate !! I'm sure I've still got that somewhere, & the 50 yard one.
Getting rid of the Marina swimming pool was yet another nail in Ramsgate's coffin.
It really is true when we say that kids today don't know the half of it.
At least that part of Ramsgate seafront is looking reasonable now. Compare it to the old Cliftonville Lido swimming pool area, a very sad sight indeed.
ReplyDeleteSome nice pics anon 23:46 (though I see that even in 1980 the Winterstoke Gardens building was derelict & covered in graffiti).
ReplyDeleteShows how rumour can spread and bcome 'fact'
ReplyDeleteI used to work at the pool, and can tell you the real problem was the old design of the building. The pool was actually on 'stilts'and you could walk underneath it at low tide. As the tide came in the void was filled with seawater. Perfectly ok, however the dated bulding measures made this a fatal design fault. Gradually the chalk below began to erode, and as a result the foundations moved, causing the pool to crack. This was patched for years until repairs were impossible. It was also too expensive to replace.
9.12 Local history is a strange and peculiar thing I now have 3 conflicting stories one from you, one from an ex councillor and one from a retired borough engineer.
ReplyDeleteHere are two later swimming pool stories that I am fairly certain about, the Pleasurama developer that TDC turned down in favour the one that has transpired to be a bit of a joke, offered to include a swimming pool to be given to the town in their development and despite asking TDC to consider putting the new pool on the old marina pool site to boost tourism, is wasn’t an option in the public consultation.
The plans put forward with a free swimming pool were chucked out by obviously a Labour Admin as none of them are here making judgement and jumping on the band wagon...
ReplyDelete