I WOULD like to echo the thoughts of the letters in the September 25 edition of the Gazette.

I WOULD like to echo the thoughts of the letters in the September 25 edition of the Gazette.

Holloway needs a new sports centre not a refurbished one. Islington also owes it to the local residents around here to build a new swimming pool after it allowed the Hornsey Road Baths development to be developed without including a refurbished swimming pool.

I have been a Sobell Centre user for the last 18 years and use it, and love it, on a daily basis. It is at the end of my road as I live in Mayton Street, N7. The fact remains that it is a tired and worn out building and needs to be replaced.

One thing has really irritated me about some of the letters I have seen in the Gazette stating, for example, that thousands of people are opposed to demolition. The council worked hard with its consultation process to elicit the views of people on the proposed development.

Everyone around where I live (very close to the Sobell) received the consultation proposal paperwork and there was a massive stand in the front entrance of the Sobell Centre with the consultation documents for people to take, fill out and send back to Islington as part of the consultation exercise. The fact remains that people who really do care did bother with the consultation process and filled out the consultation questionnaire and returned them to the council.

It is simply unacceptable that we have a few whingers, who I suspect did not participate in the consultation exercise, now claiming that they have thousands of people in support of the refurbishment option or promulgating a particular sport's interest.

The consultation form allowed everyone to object to each of the four proposals that were put forward by the council and to state their proposal for the site, had they so wanted to do that. The fact remains that they probably did not engage in the consultation process.

I feel very strongly that as Islington Council worked very hard to elicit responses from users/local residents during the consultation process, that the results of the consultation should now be properly implemented by Islington Council. It would be a travesty to local democracy and users generally if a few vocal opponents to the plan are now able to derail the results of the consultation. Islington Council should stick by the results of the consultation. - Kevin Jordan, Mayton Street, N7.