Key questions unanswered on Greenacre plan

Anger mounts over plan to put homes on site of much-loved leisure centre

AS public anger snowballs over plans to build houses on the site of a popular Newbury leisure centre key questions over the future of the site remain unanswered.

When asked to explain to why the decision was taken to sell off a much-loved facility to housing developer Bloor Homes, how much the club was sold for, or what it made of the public backlash, the owner of Riverside Leisure, which is Greenacre's proprietor, Philip Taylor, did not respond.

The manager of Greenacre, Andrew Hastings, also said the leisure centre would not comment when asked to give more details on the plans for the replacement facility, which Bloor insist it plans to build on the greenfield land adjacent to the current site.

However members and local residents remain unconvinced of the likelihood of success given the land is shielded by planning laws and contains protected wildlife, and are upset at the potential loss of not only the tennis facilities, considered the best in the county, but a heated swimming pool, squash and gym facilities.

The Newbury Weekly News and Newburytoday has been deluged with letters and emails from angry residents in recent weeks and the backlash has showed no signs of slowing down.

Greenham resident Charlotte Martin said the sports centre was a vital and much cherished link for existing residents who were sceptical that any replacement swimming pool or squash court would be forthcoming.

“The proposed sports centre will never survive in its supposed form in this economic climate as it has so few facilities, and if the developers prove this to be the case then there is nothing to stop them knocking down the proposed replacement leisure facilities and building houses on that designated area either,” she said.

The housing developer want to build 42 homes on the Greenacre site, and 17 affordable homes at another plot a short distance away, near to Sayers Close, which has rankled with residents on the street who have contacted the Newbury Weekly News worried that the plans would see them lose parts of their gardens and suffer access problems.

A spokesman for Sovereign South and West, Roy Probert, said the housing firm wrote to residents of the street to discuss the proposals with them.

“We are still at a very early stage and nothing has been agreed,” he said.

“Future developments are subject to the consultation with residents and Bloor Homes' discussions with the West Berkshire housing enabling team about the viability of the scheme.”