Cranleigh’s long-awaited dream of a new modern Leisure Centre is a step closer with the UNANIMOUS support of Waverley Planners.
The committee said a new energy-efficient building was long overdue to replace its dilapidated existing facilities, which were recently closed to swimmers for vital and costly building repairs.
Members of the council’s planning committee were reminded that the Cranleigh Leisure Centre was, and always had been, a Community Swimming pool and not, as some had suggested, a Competition Pool.
The new centre would be built on the Village Way car park on a new site to ensure business as usual in the old building, which will ultimately be demolished. There would be some disruption to parking in the short term, but this could be overcome if a former site in Knowle Lane – once owned by Cranleigh Parish Council and sold to a third party—could be used for temporary interim parking.
Following an agreement with its operators, the much-valued Thursday Market will be temporarily relocated to the Stocklund Square Car Park.
While the exciting project cost is around £40m, nearby homes in Charts Close and Little Manor Gardens expressed concerns about possible noise and disturbance. These homes are adjacent to the car park and site boundary. However, officers assured that every effort will be made to minimise adverse effects.
While supporting the scheme, which replaces a swimming pool built by villagers’ fundraising efforts 50 years ago, Cllr Jane Austin was concerned at the lack of spectator seating, which she claimed was vital for School and Swimming Club galas. However, members heard this was an “operational matter” and not a planning consideration. But this could be overcome in the future.
Cllr Carole Cochburn didn’t like the design, saying it was too modern and wouldn’t suit everyone. However, it was pointed out that Victorian-type buildings cannot house swimming pools and leisure facilities.
There will be no squash courts or saunas in the new building, but other facilities will be introduced.
A Cranleigh resident, Mr Reading, was vociferous in his objection to the scheme in principle. He said it would do nothing to enhance Cranleigh. He predicted it would cause increased traffic, transport, and parking difficulties, affect the amenities of Little Manor Gardens, and result in the loss of other recreational facilities such as the skate park. He argued the design was both “bland and an ugly modernistic building,” unlike Cranleigh’s characterful 100-year-old village hall in the Surrey style.
The building will comprise wet and dry areas and communal/private work areas with the following facilities:
Wet Areas
616 m2 for the main swimming pool and 55-seater spectator area (with two disabled bays).
309 m2 for learner pool
381m2 for changing facilities / WCs
35m2 for pool storage
12m2 for first aid area
Dry Areas
570m2 Fitness suite with 110 stations (first floor)
205m2 for changing areas (male, female and assisted changing area) (first floor)
250m2 for Studio 1 and store (ground-floor)
147m2 for Studio 2 and store (first-floor)
98m2 for Heath Studio (ground floor)
80m2 for Spin Studio with 30 stations (first floor)
Other Areas
226m2 for café, kitchen and WCs with 50 covers/reception area
148 m2 for soft play area
54m2 for admin and managers’ office
40m2 for staff room
15m2 for chemical stores
23m2 for 3x cleaners storage rooms across the building
28m2 for two ancillary staff rooms
These spaces do not include the main lift/stairwell, with two further escape stairwells,
circulation space/corridors and plant space on the first and basement floors. Flat roof
PV solar panels will cover areas.
The proposal also includes changes to parking arrangements/landscaping and the removal of the skate park. The existing tennis courts will be used as a temporary work compound whilst construction works are ongoing
Recommendation unanimously approved
That delegated authority is granted to the Assistant Director of Planning to grant planning permission, subject to conditions and completion of a Unilateral Undertaking between the County Council and the applicant to secure a financial contribution for improvements to the walking and cycling route between the site and the Downs Link Bridleway, that REG 3 PERMISSION IS GRANTED
One councillor said that Cranleigh’s new leisure centre will not suit everyone.
What do you think?
You ask, will it suit everyone?
Of course not, no new building or community facility suits everyone.
The main questions are……
Is it better than the existing centre?
Is it going to save on energy use?
Is the existing centre going to continue whilst the new one is being built?
The answers are: Yes, yes and yes.
Who will pay for it did the planners evaluate the financial burden on the unsuspecting taxpayers both in capital cost and operating cost when coming to their unanimous decision? Conversely, the cost has only doubled since development concept. How many years will it take to recover the capital cost? Compared to other costs energy savings are likely to be trivial. However it might be completed in time for the next pandemic.
I really like the bold, contemporaneous design, in harmony with the nearby Cranleigh Medical Centre. Villages, towns and cities benefit from both old and exciting new buildings, particularly when they replace tired old 60s and 70s aesthetically poor buildings. Well done the design team for incorporating photo-voltaic panels into the Passivhaus voluntary building standard design too. There will be inconvenience to nearby housing and parking during construction but, as with all new projects like this, we have to look past that. (In case you wondered, I am not involved at all in this project, it’s just that I’ve spent my career in commercial construction.)
Great to have such positive feedback. Three cheers to WBC for taking the plunge.
Thanks for sharing to Cranleigh community group where all posts that are relevant to the community are accepted.
It’s great to hear from you. The Cranleigh Community Group is the area’s best moderated and trusted group, unlike some others, which appear only to approve comments that their moderator happens to agree with!
What an excellent suggestion by WW for reducing the inevitable, and very significant, parking disruption (and associated social inconvenience) over a couple of years while the excellent New Leisure Centre is being constructed. As suggested by WW, the inevitable and significant interim parking-shortage impact on Village Way during the couple of ‘disturbance years’ could indeed be readily overcome by creating a temporary car park on an immediately adjacent site, namely The Paddock, off Knowle Lane (which was once owned by Cranleigh PC).
It is clear from the ‘physical shape’ of Cranleigh’s domestic-home areas that the very large majority of ‘High Street visitors’ will arrive via the Ewhurst Road/Horsham Road (plus, of course, visitors from Ewhurst). Therefore, it makes total sense to focus on the essential need to have appropriate parking capacity at the eastern side of the village.
Moreover, it is very important for commercial/business reasons that local residents will wish to continue shopping on the High Street, as well as making visits to, for example, the very valuable CMP, Village Hall, Cranleigh Arts Centre, and of course the current Leisure Centre.
So, we hope that WBC will now properly recognise this significant flaw in the approved Planning Permission.