Friends of River Park continue their legal challenge
Unfortunately, our renewed application on 12th October for leave to present the case for a judicial review in the High Court was not granted. However, undaunted, the Friends intend to continue the challenge. The support we have received has been very encouraging. It is clear that many of Winchester’s residents agree that the Council’s behaviour in disposing of the River Park Leisure Centre site, without any consultation and in apparent breach of the duty of trust they owe the public, is wrong.
As a result of the Friends’ challenge, the Council has made significant concessions:
- They have committed to advertising the whole site, not just the Indoor Bowls Club and Skatepark but also the redundant Leisure Centre and the North Walls car park.
- They have also committed to a complex legal procedure which they need to follow in order finally to dispose of the site.
- Before they take the next step, they accept that they will have to hold a proper public consultation exercise, to provide evidence that the land is no longer required for the purpose for which it is held (as a public park for public recreation), and to consider any objections received.
As Rose Burns, on behalf of Friends of River Park, says, “We are determined to make the Council think again about this valuable, publicly owned piece of land in Winchester’s city centre. The public needs to have a say in what should happen next. No one wants to see the neglected building fall further into disrepair over the five-year period given to the University. The Council should either recommission it or else demolish it now, so it can continue to be used for public recreation”.
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