I attended the SBC Scrutiny Committee on Monday and told the meeting that I hadn’t received any prior notice of the Croft Consultation despite being in the immediate area and despite the fact a small area of my and my neighbours front gardens, which is owned by SBC and over which we have access to our front doors, was included in the sale contract for the Croft Leisure Centre.

I was against this anyway because it is fundamentally wrong to sell off assets which the townspeople of Swindon own and in a way that means they could, after 3 years, be developed.

I also asked about why they didn't know what form of consultation was being conducted as there are specific statutory and other obligations that require to be followed so if they don’t know what process it’s under what consultation requirements have been followed?

Presumably, as the notice is displayed at knee height in an internal corridor of the Croft Centre, this is just in case any Jack Russells happen to be in the leisure centre and can read and want to comment.

I also asked them if they accepted that the requirements of genuine consultation are that the decision: 1. Has not already been made 2. is fair and open 3. Is transparent I didn’t receive a satisfactory answer. In no way does this consultation process meet these basic criteria.

Neil Hopkins, Marlborough Lane, Swindon