I hope the people of Ely will let East Cambs District Council hear what the really think of this White Elephant!

I UNDERSTAND the district council will soon be deciding on the fate of the proposed leisure centre being built on Downham Road. I have stated previously, via your newspaper, my objections to this. These reasons include the costs, the loss of revenue to business in Ely, the increased traffic on Downham Road and most importantly is the fact that 70 per cent of residents have expressed the preference of keeping leisure facilities in the centre of Ely.

The council recently surveyed some members who currently use the facilities at the Paradise Centre and some of the findings are as follows: more than 30 per cent of users currently walk, cycle or use public transport to access the leisure centre – this figure will surely drop if the facilities are moved to Downham Road.

Nearly 60 per cent of those using the Paradise Centre also visit shops during the same visit, with 7o% of these spending more than �10 and 5% actually spending over �60!

These facts alone show the impact that moving the Leisure Facilities out of Ely will have on local businesses and perhaps the only business to benefit from moving the leisure facilities out of Ely will be the privately-owned Atrium Club and I wonder if the owner would like to give his opinion via your publication.

I would like to remind people of my petition to prevent the council from making this �12million mistake which can be found at http://www.gopetition.co.uk/petition/42296.html or a link can be found via my Facebook group “Keep Ely Leisure Facilities in the Centre of Ely”

I hope the people of Ely will let East Cambs District Council hear what the really think of this White Elephant!

STEPHEN GERMENEY

Christopher Tye Close

Ely