Can the Newtown Swim Club be Saved?

Residents hoping to keep the Newtown Swim Club open after this summer held a planning meeting Wednesday at Borough Hall.

Owner David Platt is planning to close the club after this summer. He is working with County Builders to construct a residential community on the 16.5-acre site, located on Newtown Yardley Road.

But many members want to stop the club from closing.

Last week, dozens of residents attended the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors meeting and asked officials what could be done to save the club.

County Builders has submitted an application to the township for a 56-townhouse development on the site. The application is currently under review by the township.

Bob King, a member of Newtown Borough Council, is helping residents to organize around the effort and determine the feasibility of keeping the club open.

King told Patch Wednesday afternoon that he was not sure how many people would be in attendance at the planning meeting. He said there is a “a lot of interest.”

“This meeting is primarily an attempt to gauge the strength of commitment to save the club, address some members concerns about how this could affect the Platts, and determine what course of action should be taken if any,” King said. 

Township officials told the residents last week they don’t have much say at this point what happens to the swim club because it’s a privately-owned property. “It’s a difficult situation. Loosing the swim club is a terrible thing,” supervisor Matt Benchener said last week.

Benchener said the residents could mobilize and raise money for the cause, but the problem is “we don’t know what he sold that property for. It’s a private sale.”

And with an application for townhomes on the site already submitted, action must be taken swiftly, officials pointed out last week.