Horsham Joggers’ relay protest

Members of Horsham Joggers and others pounded the pavement from the club to the Carfax in an all-day relay on Saturday, December 3.

Athletes wielded signs that read ‘save our track’, ‘what legacy?’ and ‘How Dumb Can you get?” in a bid to gain more signatures on their heavily supported petition.

A total of 2,656 signatures were collected on the day, taking the total to 4,444 in favour of fighting closure of the popular centre.

Tony Johnson, chairman of Horsham Joggers, said: “I was shocked by the number of people who left their shopping and were sometimes queuing to sign the petition.

“People on Guildford Road were tooting their horns in support of the runners.

“Shop keepers came out as they ran through the town centre. We were nearly out of petitions by then and a couple of shops photocopied about 50 sheets for us.

“Everybody who took part got some brilliant comments, I was expecting to have to badger people but it was the complete opposite.”

On Thursday, November 24 more than 100 protesters swarmed outside Horsham District Council (HDC) headquarters to voice their outrage over the proposed demolition before a cabinet meeting.

But despite a huge public outcry and calls to delay the decision, HDC cabinet members agreed Broadbridge Heath Leisure Centre should be closed.

Speaking of the decision, Mr Johnson said: “There was no debate - it was a done deal before we walked in.

“There were some superb comments from other councillors and they spoke very well.

“But Jonathan Chowen’s response was lacking and he refused to engage in a discussion about the report - which the whole meeting was based on.

“As a democratic process it was appalling and surprising.”

He added: “The more I go on the more I realise how much the centre means to people. I have used it for six years and I’m still finding out just how many people use the centre for so many different reasons.

“I invite Jonathan Chowen [cabinet member for Arts, Heritage and Leisure] and Robert Nye [HDC leader] to come down to the entrance of Swan Walk this Saturday and talk to the public.”

The chairman encourages everyone concerned with the proposed closure to write to their councillors in a bid to ‘help them understand how strong the public feeling is’.