Plans for a splash park in St Neots have taken another step closer to becoming a reality following a positive outcome at a St Neots Town Council (SNTC) planning meeting.

The majority of the Town Council voted in support of the application during the planning committee meeting, which took place on Tuesday, November 15.

Submitted by Brown&Co and St Neots Aquatic Leisure CIO (SNAL), the plan is to build the splash park at the town’s former outdoor swimming pool on land in Huntingdon Road.

The Mayor of St Neots, Cllr Ben Pitt, said: "Having served on the Town Council for four and a half years, I'm pleased to see the splash park project now making significant progress.

"I want to thank the trustees for their hard work getting to this point."

The Town Council will now recommend that Huntingdonshire District Council approves the planning application, subject to a couple of conditions which concern parking provision and site access.

Addressing the conditions, Cllr Pitt said: "One was around ensuring safe pedestrian access.

"The other condition was that the proposal that splash park customers can use the Eat'n'Bowl car park is backed up by a contract."

"These comments focused purely on the merits of the planning application - it wasn't about build costs or management of the facility."

The SNAL trust has spent six years trying to get the project off the ground and faced setbacks when £250,000 granted by SNTC for the project in 2019 was subsequently rescinded after legal advice cast doubt on the decision.

Speaking to The Hunts Post prior to the planning meeting, Chairman of the SNAL trust, Mick Marks, said he hoped construction could start next year if they are allowed access to the grant, which "was promised" back in 2019.

SNTC is looking to fund community projects that will improve the town and hosted a public forum in July where it was revealed "substantial funding" had become available with current Community Infrastructure Levy reserves at £1,446,846.

Cllr Pitt added: "I look forward to hearing more detail about how the Town Council can support St Neots Aquatic and Leisure CIO to deliver a splash park that is good value, financially sustainable and will serve the residents of St Neots for many years to come."