Unfortunately just this week Merton’s Labour Cabinet has pushed back the timetabled expenditure for a new Morden Park Pool by yet another year (New site identified for £11m pool, November 6).

As a result, it won’t now be completed until late 2017 at the earliest, which is conveniently just before the next local elections. A case of déjà vu maybe?

Residents in Morden want to see action yet Labour deliver nothing but dither and delay.

Let's be clear. The reason the plans for a new pool ‘never materialised’ in 2010 was because Labour refused to progress them when they took minority control of the council in May of that year.

It was the previous Conservative administration which set aside £11million for a new leisure centre in Morden. Whatever Labour might claim, the money is there in the council's budget and has been for a number of years.

In opposition Labour claimed publicly to support the building of a new pool yet as soon as they took over the council, they left the project on a shelf to gather dust for almost 4 years. Only with an election on the horizon did they finally wake up to what local residents wanted and decide to launch a consultation.

In the meantime, the existing pool has been left to deteriorate further. Users of the leisure centre will no doubt be relieved to hear it should remain open whilst a new facility is built nearby but this is assuming of course that the current pool can remain operational that long.

Councillor Janice Howard, Leisure and Culture spokesman, Merton Conservative Group