Letter : The beauty of Bath - and the baths

Sir: Like a man married to a beautiful wife for too long, Miles Kington is quick to see the faults and to ignore the beauty ("A pretty stage set awash with criticism", 17 September).

It may be unreasonable to expect him to realise that the Bath City Council he criticises went out of existence some six months ago in a local government shake-up which merged Bath, Wansdyke and part of Avon. But when he accuses that council of allowing a swimming pool to close as a result of a failure of a contractor, he could not be more wrong. The closure was actually the result of a pounds 1m refurbishment and improvement scheme.

The spa itself was closed for bathing for health reasons some years ago, but the intervening period has seen the opening of a new swimming pool, and the new council, Bath & North East Somerset, has just submitted a bid for lottery funding to recreate the spa for the millennium.

TONY du SAUTOY

Chief Executive

Bath & North East Somerset

Bath