It’s stood almost untouched for 15 years and many felt it could have been re-opened at a moments notice, but now the once-loved Harcourt Sands swimming pool has been pulled to the ground as the site is redeveloped for housing.
As previously reported by Island Echo, the new owners of the former Harcourt Sands holiday park in Ryde are pushing forward with the site’s redevelopment, clearing further areas of land as well submitting a request to the Isle of Wight Council to adjust planning permission.
A planning application has been submitted by K-Haus to change the already-approved road layout within the site, as well as the re-siting of the first 14 units. The request has been made to maximise the views across the Solent with the first houses set to be built being the ones closest to the sea. Unsurprisingly, Ryde Town Council and Nettlestone & Seaview Parish Council have both objected to the application.
Much of the site has already been cleared but the large indoor swimming pool had been left untouched – until now. Despite numerous fires at Harcourt Sands over the years, the swimming pool complex has escaped any criminal damage. However, earlier this week demolition crews from Harrison Contractors moved in to tear the building down bringing an end to any hopes that it could be re-opened.
The project to build 128 homes on the land between Springvale and Appley is expected to be complete by around 2025.
A spokesperson for the company recently told Island Echo:
“K-Haus is very pleased in helping reinvigorate Harcourt Sands site, over the next 3-4 years our intention is to build out a range of 1, 2, 3 and 4 bed Bauhaus style homes. Starting with 14 this year, we are focused on building high quality netZero homes that will allow clients to customise their own internal fit-out, together with approved external finishes.
Article continues below this advertisement “Recognising the change to working patterns driven by the pandemic, all 14 homes will offer comprehensive home office facilities with fibre connectivity. Subsequently, we envisage Harcourt Sands to become a very vibrant homeworking and living environment, that will support a healthy work/life balance for those that live there and in addition will directly help the local economy.
“Our aim is to use Harcourt Sands as an exemplar to enable us to further grow development activities across the UK and establish a UK based state-of-the-art modern methods of construction manufacturing facility”.
In October 2018, urban explorers managed to gain entry into the swimming complex through an air shaft to capture on camera the ‘spotless’ condition.
an opportunity to plant trees, return it to nature, clear the rubbish has been lost and for what – to build more hutches
Satisfy the pockets of greedy developers who don’t give a jot about the environment or altering the water table with more concrete… sea view houses… loadsa money. All these houses will be purchased by second home owners from the mainland, probably in a way just as well as there aren’t any jobs and come to think about it not many shops – the list goes on.
About time this council took the stance a few places in Cornwall have.. no new builds unless they are affordable for people in the area. If this were to happen let’s see how greedy the developers are then in getting their projects off the ground.
Section 106 T&CP act, anyone?