FURIOUS pool campaigners halted a meeting by holding a sign saying 'SHAME ON YOU' after councillors refused to reveal the future of the old Arthur Hill site.

Members of Arthur Hill Save Our Swimming (SOS) were left devastated when Reading Borough Council (RBC) closed the pool in October 2016 due to high running costs.

The council elected to put the site up for sale and campaigners were hoping that a leisure provider would be able to take over and bring the derelict pool back for the swimming community.

Arthur Hill SOS had a bid rejected by the council after raising more than £11,000, which the group donated to helps schools in the local area.

Campaigner Peter Burt, who took part in the demonstration in the council chamber, said: “We now have the farcical situation where local councillors are too scared to admit that they have flogged off the site for development, and astonishingly, are refusing to confirm who the pool will be sold to.

Reading Chronicle:

“RBC has made a decision to sell a historic community asset, but as things stand the public are not allowed to know who to, or what the site will be used for, or why the winning bid was chosen. This cannot be right.

“RBC members need to understand that they have really, really annoyed a lot of local people over their appalling handling of this matter and their eagerness to axe local services, and we now feel we have absolutely nothing to lose by disrupting council business.”

The 105-year-old pool required £700,000 to bring it up to scratch and closing the centre is saving the council around £120,000 a year.

The land was placed on the market in January and it is thought a number of bids have been received.

Campaigners held a demonstration outside the council offices before the policy meeting on Monday.

Reading Chronicle:

A council spokesman added: "The council took the decision to close Arthur Hill pool in 2016, which was being subsidised by more than £100,000 a year.

"The council is instead choosing to invest in modern new sports facilities which residents will be able to use for many years to come.

"This includes proposals for two new purpose-built swimming pools for Reading. The procurement process will see a new leisure operator being selected in June 2019."