New pool to replace Didcot Wave high on town priorities (From The Oxford Times)

New pool to replace Didcot Wave high on town priorities

1:00pm Wednesday 4th January 2012 in Didcot By Andrew Ffrench

Jo Murphy

A NEW pool to replace Didcot Wave is high on a list of priorities for the town in 2012.

South Oxfordshire District Council is consulting the public on its corporate plan, outlining what new facilities it should spend money on from 2012-16.

And one of the key proposals is a new leisure centre to replace the Newlands Avenue pool, to meet the needs of the expanding town.

Council leaders won’t decide on the proposal until the budget is finalised in February.

But a capital growth bid of £15m is being put forward to fund the cost of a new leisure centre.

The location is still being discussed, and town council leader Margaret Davies said she thought Didcot Wave might not stay once a new facility was built.

She said: “For years, SODC has been wanting to build a new leisure centre.

“The plans are now being firmed up and one possible site is land to the north of the A4130, north of Ladygrove, which would be accessible from anywhere in Didcot.

“But Didcot Wave is not looking too tired, and it would be wonderful if they could keep that.

“However, it’s possible the council might want to sell the land the Wave is on to make money for the other scheme.”

Jo Murphy, from Upton, who runs Barramundi swimming club at Didcot Wave, said: “They should create a 50m pool at the new leisure centre and keep Didcot Wave open as a leisure pool.”

Cabinet member for leisure Bill Service said £15m funding was likely to be approved by the council next month.

He added: “Didcot Wave is very popular so we are not ruling out keeping it.

“We are looking at ways of funding leisure over the next 25 years and if the leisure team can find ways of bringing in funding from private sources then more than £20m could be spent on the new centre.”

Last March, a report said new leisure facilities in Didcot were needed because South Oxfordshire’s population, 128,277, was expected to grow by more than 14,000 by 2026.

Strategic directors at SODC are keen to see progress on a number of other major schemes affecting Didcot.

These include a £6m scheme led by the county council to refurbish Didcot Parkway forecourt.

Shopping centre developer Hammerson is expected to submit a planning application in the spring for a £125m second phase of the Orchard shopping centre.

And in April, the Science Vale Enterprise Zone, featuring Milton Park and Harwell Oxford science centre, will be officially launched.