South Reading Leisure Centre pool could be upgraded in 2023

A big chunk of the funding, £295,000, would go to South Reading Leisure Centre, where the council wants to conduct an upgrade to the pool and wet changing rooms.

If approved, work on the pool would start in the new year and be completed in Spring 2023

The works would be timed to coincide with the opening of the six lane swimming pool at Palmer Park leisure centre, so swimmers in South Reading can use the new pool while their regular one is being upgraded.

The council also wants to invest an extra £36,000 at Palmer Park, which A screengrab from footage of the Palmer Park site back in January. Credit: Reading Borough Council would go into improved wayfinding so visually impaired people can access the centre.

This would involve installing tacticle paving from the park to the centre, with the project being developed with the advice of visually impaired residents.

Adele Barnet-Ward (Labour, Thames), lead councillor for leisure and culture said: “I’m delighted that we are proposing further investment in improving the popular and well-used pool in South Reading.

“Although there has, rightly, been a focus on the new leisure facilities we’re delivering at Rivermead and Palmer Park, our improvements to the Meadway Sports Centre and South Reading Leisure Centre are just as important for local people.

“The council’s investment in these popular centres demonstrates our commitment to providing high-quality leisure facilities throughout the borough.“I am very grateful to the blind and partially sighted people who engaged with us over the Palmer Park tactile paving project.