THE Liberal Democrats are delighted that Fusion is considering opening a gym at Barton Pool.

It is what we proposed as a ‘spend to save’ initiative a year ago: gyms make money and pools (usually) lose it.

Our proposal was turned down by the new Labour administration.

Councillor Timbs (Oxford Mail, March 10) says he wants to set the record straight. I should like to set it straighter, and go back six years rather his one.

For the past seven years the Liberal Democrats have been calling for Oxford’s leisure centres (among the most expensive in the whole of England) to be run by a charitable trust, on the grounds that this would both save money and improve the service.

Every year our suggestion was rejected by the Greens and by Labour who, every year, accused us of trying to privatise the service.

Last year, finally and grudgingly, Labour recognised we could no longer afford to provide such poor value for money, and accepted our budget proposal.

So, from next month Fusion will be running the centres, and the estimated saving to the council will be £700,000 a year. Councillor Timb’s maths is certainly good enough to recognise that had the council agreed to work with a trust six years ago we could have saved over £4m – more than enough, as it turns out, to cover our possible losses through the Icelandic banks.

JIM CAMPBELL, Oxford City Councillor, St Margaret’s Ward