In a meeting held with a Greenwich Leisure Ltd. representative Friday, Welwyn Hatfield Member of Parliament Grant Shapps demanded that someone with the power of the pen at GLL meet with him in Parliament in order to discuss the proposed closure of Gosling Sports Hall.
Grant expressed his and residents’ frustration that, so far, no one with authority or decision-making power has put themselves forward to field the community’s questions, instead sending a representative who lacks the authority to make a decision or answer the difficult questions.
Grant said: “In my meeting with a GLL representative today, I demanded that someone with the authority to make the decision to halt the plan to close the sports hall be in my Parliamentary office next week. If nobody suitable is sent, then I will have no choice but to raise this issue in the House of Commons, and call into question the legitimacy of GLL’s claim that it is a “community-minded” organisation.
“Unfortunately, the representative I met with today does not have the authority to make any decisions on this, or even to answer the questions the community has been putting to GLL all week.
“I also expressed my outrage and disbelief that neither I as the MP or any of the hall’s loyal users were included in the decision. The planned closure ought to be pushed back, to allow more time for this poorly thought-out decision to be reversed.
Grant also sought assurances from GLL that Welwyn Garden City’s Centenary celebrations next year would not be affected, and that locals schools would continue to be accommodated if the hall does indeed close. He was assured that provisions would be made, but no specifics were revealed.
Speaking of his general anger with the situation, Grant said: “GLL cannot do this; it is not acceptable to do this to the community and then not bother sending the right people to speak to us. I will continue to insist on meeting with GLL Executives, and keep my constituents updated on my progress with this vital issue.” Grant can be contacted directly at grant@shapps.com, or via his constituency office at 01707 262632