WOKINGHAM’s only squash club has accused the Borough of “messing it about” over a public consultation on its closure threatened venue.
Nick Dyer, spokesman for the fifty strong club, claimed none of the six planned drop-in events for people to voice their opinion on the future of St. Crispin’s Leisure Centre, initially included a promised dedicated session for squash members.
Describing that snub as “disappointing” an angry Mr. Dyer slammed the council for then allocating a lunchtime session for the club before changing that to an early afternoon event.
He has now called for this to be switched to an evening drop in session claiming many of the players will be at work during the day.
“The council has not handled the situation very well at all,” said Mr. Dyer.
“We had been told club members would have a separate time to make their views known but at first this didn’t seem to be the case. Then a session between 12 noon and 1.30pm on Tuesday, July 18th was arranged without any consultation with us. The council later contacted me to say that was a mistake and we could have a dedicated time starting at 2pm on the same day for an hour and a half.
“However, 2pm on a Tuesday afternoon is almost certain to exclude a significant number of users who have jobs to go to. It is disappointing that the Council has ignored my request for an early evening session without the courtesy of a reply,
“As there are other consultation sessions timed for 5.30 to 7.30 there seems no reason why a similar timing could not be arranged for a dedicated squash slot if the council really wishes to understand the views of the players. I would therefore respectfully request that the council reconsiders the timing.”
The Borough is considering the future of St. Crispin’s due to a fall in usage following the opening of the Carnival Hub. It says options include demolishing the London Road site, transferring it to the neighbouring St.Crispin’s school and keeping it open.
The eight week consultation, it claims, will give users as well as non users an opportunity “to make sure their views are understood.”
Mr.Dyer warned that if the centre closed it would mean the end of the town’s only squash club: “We’ve been told we could use Bracknell however it has just announced redevelopment plans which will mean the current four courts reduced to just two.
“Other options are Reading University or the Berkshire County Sports Club but these are too distant for many of our members who are retired. Besides we pay council tax to Wokingham so why should we have to go outside the Borough?
“This is not just about losing our squash courts. Our club is a community, a social club and that will disappear along with our game.”
In a comment piece for Wokingham Today, Cllr Ian Shenton said: “We understand their position is different from other people who use the centre because the council does not own any other squash courts – although there are other courts in the borough and nearby.
“We have arranged a dedicated session to talk to these players and are open to more meetings with them as the consultation continues. At this stage we can’t make promises about future squash provision because we are still gathering information (including through the consultation) to help make a decision.
“I can make a promise that we will talk to the squash players and to anybody else with an interest in the future of the centre so we have as comprehensive consultation as possible.”
The consultation events are:
Tuesday, July 18 – noon-1.30pm, and 2pm-3pm. This additional session is reserved for members of the regular squash league at St Crispin’s Leisure Centre.
Thursday, July 20 – 5.30pm- 7pm
Saturday, July 22 – noon-1.30pm
Wednesday, July 26 – noon-1.30pm
Friday, July 28 – 5.30pm-7pm
Sunday, July 30 – noon-1.30pm
Alternatively log on to Wokingham Borough Council’s website: https://engage.wokingham.gov.uk/en-GB/projects/st-crispins-leisure-centre
