Leisure club demolition refused after local backlash

Buckden Marina and Leisure Club in Cambridgeshire has been closed for several years

A former leisure centre will not be bulldozed after more than 90 objections were lodged online.

Huntingdonshire District Council refused to knock down the Buckden Marina and Leisure Club to build 20 holiday apartments.

Members of the public said the leisure centre was an "asset to the village" of Buckden, near St Neots in Cambridgeshire, up until it closed.

The developer Buckden Properties Ltd said the leisure centre would not re-open and was becoming "dilapidated".

The proposals were not supported by Buckden Parish Council and 94 objections were lodged with the district council.

One person commented online: “This is a unique and wonderful place which cannot be matched by any other local space for its beautiful location and atmosphere.

"It is an asset to the village and absolutely should be preserved for the many who value it rather than being sacrificed for the few to profit from."

Another person wrote the loss of "gym, pool and wellbeing services could not have come at a worse time".

'Intrinsic beauty'

In planning documents, the developer said use of the building had "ceased several years ago" and it had become "somewhat dilapidated".

It said due to the renovations needed and the cost of running a leisure centre "it was considered that a new use needed to be found" in the form of tourist waterside flats.

The district council decided to refuse the application earlier this month.

A council officer said in a report: "Insufficient information has been submitted with the application to justify the loss of the local service and community facility.

“The proposed building by virtue of its form, scale and massing would be out of keeping with adjacent existing buildings in the marina and therefore would not recognise the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside or would not lead to a clear and substantial enhancement of the immediate setting.”