After weeks of being exhorted to think about the city council’s financial position with regard to the possible closure of Temple Cowley Pools and Gym, I was appalled to discover that some city council officers – such as Peter Slocombe and Tim Sadler – are being given huge pay rises.

It’s bad enough that they are receiving such awards when the public sector is facing 25 per cent funding cuts, and all public sector workers are being given a two year pay freeze. But when they are also in the middle of trying to justify the closure of a major community resource in Cowley, it clearly demonstrates that they have no regard for the people of the city they serve.

I call on elected members of the executive board to remember their constituents, review these pay awards and consider the importance of maintaining the vital community resource of Temple Cowley Pools and Gym.

Virginia Moffatt, Wilkins Road, Oxford