'Save Shrewsbury's Quarry swimming pool': Watch Green Party leader Natalie Bennett gives message to Shropshire Council

Natalie Bennett is in the county as part of a whistle-stop tour of the UK before she stands down as Green leader this autumn, and took the time to meet with campaigners determined to keep Shrewsbury's Quarry pool open.

She then went on to meet with Green Party supporters at Shrewsbury University Centre in Frankwell to discuss the direction of the Green Party – and British politics in general – post-EU referendum.

But first she discussed Shropshire Council's preferred plan is to create a new pool at Shrewsbury Sports Village in Sundorne, and the 12 months Shrewsbury Town Council, Shrewsbury Business Improvement District (BID), and The Quarry Swimming and Fitness Forum have been given to to draw up an alternative plan to keep the leisure centre open where it is.

Bernard Wills, chairman of The Quarry Swimming and Fitness Forum, told Ms Bennett that they did not believe the Quarry pool's 300,000 users would all travel to use a smaller pool in Sundorne, and its loss would have an impact on the vibrancy of the town centre.

Ms Bennett said for her the "main underlying issue" was the loss of a town centre venue that served everybody, as the site could be sold off for private use.

She said: "It's at the centre of town where people can get to it, for college students, university students, maybe people with mobility issues who can't travel too far and for the young people of the town.

"If you move the pool to the outside of town there is an access issue and it is also probable that people will use their cars more to get there."

She said air pollution had been shown to have life-shortening effect on tens of thousands of people a year, and such a move would also lead to greater congestion.

"What we should be doing is preserving and enhancing this building which is essentially doing the right thing in the right place," she said.

Ms Bennett met with supporters of Brynhafod Field in Oswestry from 10.30am, as fears continue over the future of the recreation ground.

She also met Oswestry Green Party members and Duncan Kerr, Green councillor for Oswestry South, who took over from Conservative Keith Barrow when he stepped down last year.