As a result of pressure from the Arthur hill Campaign, Reading Borough Council has finally released this document with partial information about the sale of Arthur Hill Pool.
Click here to download.
Month: January 2019
Palmer Park – A public park, not a car park.
Reading Borough Council has begun consultation on Palmer Park and a new swimming pool.
Is this the Council’s vision for the future of Palmer Park?
Reading Borough Council is currently consulting on its plans for the future of Palmer Park, including plans to build a new swimming pool in the park. You can find full details of the proposals on the Council’s website here.
We are urging former Arthur Hill swimmers and everyone with an interest in Palmer Park to give their views to the Council through the consultation process. The consultation ends on Friday 22 February and you can send your comments to the Council by email to planningpolicy@reading.gov.uk.
The Council are organising a drop-in event at Palmer Park Stadium on Tuesday 15 January 2019, between 3pm and 8pm, where officers will be available to discuss the plans. Again, we would encourage our supporters to attend this event.
Arthur Hill – Save Our Swimming Community Interest Company has a number of concerns about the Council’s proposals:
- We consider that refurbishing and reopening Arthur Hill Swimming Pool would be a more cost effective and lower impact option than building a new pool.
- Reading Borough Council should undertake a proper site options appraisal before selecting a location for development of any new swimming pool in East Reading, rather than automatically assuming that Palmer Park would be the best location.
- The plans that the Council has published would see a considerable increase in car parking space, resulting in a loss of parkland in the south of the park. This would run counter to the Council’s own policies on preserving public open space and encouraging sustainable transport. Any future leisure development in Palmer Park should not result in any loss of open parkland and should not give rise to a net increase in car parking space in the park.
- The wording in the Council’s proposal suggests that there may be longer term aspirations for further leisure development in Palmer Park. Construction of a new leisure facility should not open the door to future development in the park.
- The Council proposes to close the adventure play area in the park, which we think should be refurbished and re-opened.
You can read our full response to the consultation here.
Arthur Hill SOS News 