Sir, As a resident in Wallingford, I read with interest your article on the renovation of the swimming pool at Berinsfield and it reminded me that over many years councillors in Wallingford have tried to encourage South Oxfordshire District Council to at least conduct a meaningful feasibility study into the prospects for an indoor pool in Wallingford.

With almost 800 new homes about to be built in the town, as well as strong growth nearby, the merits of having such a facility here only increase.

The 2010 Leisure & Sports Facilities Strategy included a very strong recommendation that the council conduct a feasibility study for a new pool in Wallingford but it has never been carried out.

SODC continues to foist ever-larger numbers of homes upon Wallingford and the refusal to carry out basic recommendations into understanding the needs of the town only reinforces the feeling that SODC is interested only in securing the future of larger centres like Didcot and Henley.

Smaller communities across our region need a range of facilities if we are to adequately cope with demands for thousands of new homes. There is an obvious need for new infrastructure but if the councils cannot be bothered to even carry out recommended feasibility studies how are we to trust that they genuinely support our communities?

Lee Upcraft

UKIP Parliamentary Candidate for the Wantage constituency