I live in Smethwick where the swimming centre is being built, in fact from my living room window I can see it, as I'm on the 10th floor of a tower block.
Sandwell council decided that, despite having plenty of brownfield sites locally with so many factories having been demolished, to put the swimming centre on a playing field in the middle of a housing estate, with no main roads nearby. It's been chaos since the start, traffic holdups, you name it in fact they have had to demolish a island and are, we think putting traffic lights there because it's been too difficult for the lorries to negotiate the island.
Because of the new centre, two well used and popular baths are to be closed, the one Thimblemill Baths is a beautiful building and also has a lot of local history as well, I'll find some links and post them.
Most residents round here were against the playing fields being used, but the council rode roughshod over what we wanted as usual. No doubt when it's all over, the council tax payers of Sandwell will be left with another huge white elephant because where it is just isn't practical. I can't see it being used for many major events, the car park isn't going to be that big and the bus that runs directly outside it, is half hourly during the day, hourly at night and Sundays and goes round the Wrekin to get tbere.
I'd take some photos, but I use a Kindle Fire to access the site and my phone runs with Google pictures and I can't see how to get them on here, if I can work it out, I'll take some.
Some links and pictures of Thimblemill Baths.
Smethwick Baths is a Grade II listed building in Smethwick, Sandwell, England. See why it was listed, view it on a map, see visitor comments and photos and share your own comments and photos of this building.
britishlistedbuildings.co.uk