Video via Wokingham BC YouTube

Arthur Hill swimming pool’s future could take another twist after a councillor called on Wokingham Borough Council (WBC) to intervene in the facility’s fate.

Reading Borough Council (RBC) thought it had agreed a deal with OOAK Developments LTD to hand over the site, but as revealed by the Chronicle, negotiations between the parties ‘fell through’ earlier this month.

The future of the pool is now unclear with several parties, including local campaigners, said to be interested in acquiring the site, which has been earmarked for house building by RBC.

WBC could be another interested group after Hillside ward member Cllr Chris Smith (Conservative) called on Wokingham leader John Halsall to look into how the authority could take control of the pool.

He said: “This is a pool that is very close to my heart because as a pupil at Hillside primary it was a place I was taken to learn to swim.

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“I know exactly how valued this is by the local community.

“Is there anything this council can do to either purchase or fund the running of that pool, and protect it from the cuts of the Labour-controlled Reading Borough Council?”

Cllr John Halsall (Conservative) told Cllr Smith he would need some more time and information to assess what options WBC had, before adding: “I’m not sure what we can do in Reading but I will certainly have a look at it.”

The breakdown in negotiations comes after the council was forced to reveal full details of the controversial sale after a lengthy Freedom of Information (FOI) battle between RBC and campaigners.

Information authority bosses ordered the council to release a July 2018 Policy Committee report which revealed the council agreed to sell Arthur Hill swimming pool to OOAK Developments LTD (OOAK) for £1.15 million to develop housing, despite there being higher offers and bids to retain the pool.

Campaigners slammed the council for failing to get the highest price offered and a spokesman for the Arthur Hill Campaign said: “This report raises some very worrying questions about how the winning bidder was selected and why, despite not yet having received a single penny for the pool from the prospective buyer, the council has not put the pool back on the market.”

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