Greenacre plans still not living up to expectations, say members

Plans to tear down the existing Greenacre Leisure health and fitness club, on Greenham Road, were first proposed in 2011, but following a year of silence, revised plans were submitted for approval in January this year.
Plans for the site were split into two planning applications, the first for Bloor Homes to build 40 detached, semi-detached and terraced houses, yet with no guarantee of affordable housing at the site of the centre, off Greenham Road, and the second by Stax Leisure to build a replacement leisure facility on greenbelt land close to the current centre.
However, angry service users contested the development on the grounds that popular squash facilities were not to be replaced and tennis facilities were to be reduced, yet padel tennis courts had been included.
More than 115 letters of objection have been submitted to West Berkshire Council, including from Newbury Town Council and Greenham Parish Council, prompting Stax Leisure to submit further revised plans, this time with two squash courts, two indoor and four outdoor tennis courts - and no padel tennis.
One indoor and one outdoor swimming pool and gym and studio facilities are also included.
Planning agent Steven Smallman said: “The revised plans respond to the comments about the original scheme received from a number of consultees.”
Although admitting the revised plans are a step in the right direction, many have stated that they are still inadequate.
One regular squash player at Greenacre, James Horswill, said: “It’s progress, but it still doesn’t replace the three [squash] courts at the moment.
“There’s a risk that it could become very crowded and difficult to get an available court.”
Another member and regular tennis player, David Norburn, said: “We now have four tennis courts indoors so that’s definitely to be approved of, [but] we have lost one outside court which means that men’s teams in the summer are severely constrained.”
Both members echoed the concerns of the majority of objection letters - the potential for a lengthy period between the demolition of the existing club and the provision of a new one, with many questioning whether it would be built at all.
“There’s going to be a delay while the old [facilities] are knocked down and the new courts are erected,” said Prof Norburn. “This means that tennis and squash and that lovely social ethos will disappear.
“The problem is not so much with the facilities; the problem really is with the delay.”