Everyone in Cranleigh recognises the need for a new leisure centre - the existing leisure centre is at end-of-life, is falling apart and is extremely energy inefficient.

So why is it that even the people who want a new leisure centre are opposed to the proposed development? Full information about the designs can be viewed here.

It comes down to five key elements:

1. The ugly modernist design of the building, which has been pushed with intentionally deceptive language
2. The loss of Swimming Pool spectator seating (from 180 down to just 55 - goodbye the popular galas!)
3. Significant loss of greenery, including old-growth Oak trees around key town centre destinations (Snoxhall Fields, Cranleigh Skate Park, Outdoor Gym, Snoxhall Play Park, Cranleigh Tennis Courts)
4. The expected massive increase in car traffic, which Cranleigh residents are opposed to
5. The belief that Cranleigh can do better with £31,000,000

This Leisure Centre is to be the largest and most expensive development in the 2020s in Cranleigh; we believe that Cranleigh does not deserve a rushed, ugly and short-sighted development that results in loss of amenities, green space and increases in traffic congestion. 

The developers GT3 and DPP (both Newcastle based firms with no connection to Cranleigh) have gamified the planning process and have blatantly ignored the Cranleigh Neighbourhood plan, which passed by referendum in 2024 with over 87% voting in support.

Out of 800 respondents, DPP/GT3 were only able to find 165 people officially in support of these designs. As these supporters were collated across various drop-in sessions and an online survey, it is also the believed that a lot of these supporters were persons counted multiple times.

We, those that sign this petition, believe that the design for the new Leisure Centre is too important to Cranleigh for the designs to be left in its current state. We call for an open design competition to be held with the following criteria:

1. The design must demonstrate being able to stay within the £31M budget whilst meeting Passivhaus standards
2. The design must retain or increase the number of swimming pool spectator seating from the existing capacity of 180
3. The design must incorporate the existing multi-use skate park and old growth trees
4. The design must comply with the Cranleigh Neighbourhood Plan, Local Transport Plan (LTP4) and the Waverley LCWIP ; it should include the Snoxhall / Knowle Greenway
5. The design must include a mixed-use plaza which the local market can be located on Thursdays and utilised for other commercial activity the other days of the week
6. The designers must have a trading history of at least 5 years, with past successful projects already completed in the UK with a New Urbanism design philosophy