Reading pool campaigners stage window-washing protest

Campaigners have washed a council's windows in protest at what they say is a lack of transparency over the sale of a pool donated to the community.

The group wants the authority to release details of the deal for Reading's Arthur Hill Memorial Baths.

The Arthur Hill Campaign group said it would try to search the offices for the documents if Reading Borough Council fails to provide the information.

The council said the details remained confidential until the sale was agreed.

No restriction had ever been imposed "that would affect the development or saleability of the site", a spokesman added.

The pool building on Kings Road was built in 1911 on land donated by the family of Arthur Hill.

He was a philanthropic mayor of Reading from 1883 to 1887.

The building closed in December 2016 after Reading Borough Council said building repairs were too costly.

In 2017, the site was earmarked for residential development as part of the council's Draft Local Plan.

Campaigner John Hoggett said: "The council has sold off the pool, which has been owned by the people of Reading for about 100 years, and they are refusing to say who to.

"It was given to the people of Reading, not to the council to sell off for a bit of money."

Explaining the window-washing stunt, he added: "They [the council] are not being transparent so we're cleaning the muck off so that we can see what's actually happening."

A spokesman for Reading Borough Council said: "As is common practice with the majority of property transactions, details regarding the sale of a council property and the preferred bidder will remain confidential until detailed terms for the sale have been agreed, in some cases when the contract has been exchanged or when the transaction is completed, unless the parties wish to agree otherwise."