A BOROUGH councillor is calling for development at a former Test Valley aquatic centre to move forward after a second fire in nine months.
Cllr Neil Gwynne made the comments following the latest fire at World of Water in Greatbridge Road, on the outskirts of Romsey, on Friday, April 19.
The ward councillor for the Cupernham area said: “Clearly, there has been quite a lot of activity at the site, possibly from youngsters.
“It's an isolated, unused site. It's down to the owner to do whatever the fire service and police recommenced to prevent this from happening again.”
READ MORE: Firefighters tackle blaze at derelict World of Water aquatic centre
Planning permission was granted in 2021 for an eco-campus. The £10m scheme included visitor, work and hospitality spaces, as well as enhanced access to the adjacent 170-acre Fishlake Meadows Nature Reserve.
The joint venture from Romsey-based EP Projects and the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust also had an on-site café, retail space and educational facilities, as well as flexible workspaces.
Cllr Gwynne added: “It's significantly damaged now. The main issue is that the site has planning permission for what could be a real benefit to the town. But conditions in the markets are difficult right now.
“Dormant sites are never good news. I hope the development comes to fruition soon.
“The funding was dependant on office space. Given there is so much home working now, it makes it more tricky to get the funds on that basis.
“Long-term, it's about the development going ahead as planned. I hope this was the second and last fire.”
Speaking the morning after the fire, site owner Susan Mercer said: “I was alerted by the fire brigade that my building, that was burnt last year by arsonists, these arsonists had come back and burnt it again. These youths have some sort of cult thing going on with YouTube, they've been videoing themselves doing it.
“Before that happened, even though there were no entry signs up all over, they have all been ripped down. Every time a fence is put up, it's knocked down and they get in. Because the building is no longer in use, they felt the need to come in and they've been thieving and wrecking anything that they could find and using it as a playground. It's not a very nice thing to happen.”
Hampshire Fire Service has been contacted for an update on the cause of the blaze, widely believed to be arson.
EP Projects was also approached for a comment several days ago.
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