Compiled
by Oliver Merrington and Andy Hoines- with the assistance from members of the Lidos History Society.
POTENTIALLY RE-OPENABLE LIDOS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Compiled
by Oliver Merrington and Andy Hoines
- with the assistance from members of the Lidos History Society.
The purpose of this webpage is to list those lidos built in the 1930s or later, which have recently closed, and where substantial buildings and the pool tank remain. Obviously, there are an enormous number of factors which might determine whether each pool could be re-opened, not least the cost. We were going to call this page "Easily re-openable lidos...."
In most cases it not possible to visit these pools, except with special permission from the owner, usually the local authority. However, they can be seen from the outside.
For many of these there are active campaigns to save the pool, and details of these are included, where known.
Please type 
into your email program if you are able to supply further information on any of these lidos, or scanned photographs.
Go to the www.lidos.org.uk Homepage
For other closed pools in London, see our
webpage Lidos in the London area no longer open.
INDEX TO RE-OPENABLE 1930s LIDOS
The following have had their pool tanks filled in, but are still visible:
Barry: Cold Knap Lido 1926 [closed: 1996, demolished 2004]
London: Barking Lido
Slough: Baylis House Pool
St Neots Outdoor Pool
Sutton Park: Keeper's Pool [demolished, now just a lake]
Abingdon: Abbey Meadow Open Air Swimming Pool [REOPENED 2006]
Abbey Meadow, Abbey Close, Abingdon OX14 3JD
See BBC News reports a petition to save the pool, April 2005.
Banbury Open Air Pool [CLOSED in 2002]
Woodgreen Leisure Centre, Woodgreen Avenue, Banbury, Oxfordshire
OX16 0AT
Tel: 01295 262742 (indoor pool)
The adjacent 1994 indoor pool is still open. Woodgreen Leisure Centre is owned by Cherwell District Council, and managed by D C Leisure (Midlands) Ltd.
When open this Olympic-length 50 m
heated outdoor swimming pool also had flumes, slides and diving boards.
Opened on 23 May 1939; £7,900 was raised for building the pool, buildings and a complete layout. With its capacity of 356,000 gallons, the new 1939 pool, together with its surrounding complex, involved 23 contractors and sub contractors, using firms such as the London Brick Company and regional bodies such as Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire Power Company.
In 1999 to mark the 60th birthday of the Banbury Open Air Pool, a record turnout of nearly 1500 people visited over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Closed 2002 (last season).
Andy Hoines wrote:
"Did not open in 2004 after problems with the pool's lining where children cut their feet - this also curtailed the season in previous years. There are long-term plans to convert the outdoor pool into an Olympic-size indoor pool."
Derrick Knight writes:
Since April 2005 a tough campaign has developed to save the pool led by the
Open Air Pool Support Group who have had a long established 'friends of the
pool' role raising money for equipment and extras for the its various
managements. But in April 2005 the rumour spread that Cherwell District
Council was about to vote to close the pool and use it for housing. A 10,000 petition was quickly collected and a demo of of some 300 people outside the a key council meeting frightened
the CDC into postponing a decision and re-opening a debate. A month later a
well attended public meeting faced a panel of councillors and leisure
officers and gave them hell. At that time the leader declared that the pool
would be closed. 'That was politics' he said.
The support group gathered momentum and did the research for an illustrated booklet called 'Hands Up for a New Beginning' which told the story of mismanagement and offered practical solutions and examples of costs provided by good pool system builders. We drooled over London's Parliament Hill Lido solution with its shining stainles steel. The newly upgraded Banbury Town Council then decided they wanted to manage the pool if Cherwell DC wanted to get out of it. Copies of our report were given to all their working group together with the leading lights in CDC Leisure and their key councillors. They commissioned a feasability report from a management consultant in Manchester. The local press followed the campaign week by week.
In March 2005 the Cherwell DC Executive did a U-turn and voted the sum of £500,000 towards the refurbishing and more, if necessary, provided a workable business plan was tabled. We are cautious of this change of heart because it came conveniently close to local elections in May 2005. However we were already some way down that road and were working on a proposal for a new Community Initiative Company. We brought together all the users of the pool at Woodgreen and its dryside users in the adjoining community centre - the swimmers, canoeists, triathlonists, runners, womens and health groups, Old Time Dancers, etc. who have agreed in principle to work together in the future. Our aim would be to set up a CIC with local founder members and local business names, form a board, negotiate a contract with the owner councils and hire a committed professional team to run it. The company supporters would help in raising funds, ensuring good publicity and helping where possible. We are at a pivotal moment in our campaign. Of course we believe very fiercely that Banbury, an expanding and prosperous town with pockets of deprivation needs its big pool for young and old.
April 2006: "If we succeed in negotiating to manage the pool and its leisure centre annexe, we will have turned ourselves into a CIC, a Community Initiative Company."
Campaign: Banbury Open Air Pool Support Group
banburypoolcampaign.com
Bath: Cleveland Pleasure Baths [CLOSED in 1984]
Hampton Row, Bathwick (alongside the River Avon)
See photograph at the top of this webpage.
An advertisement in the Bath Weekly Chronicle on 26th June 1817 stated "The Pleasure
Baths situated on the Banks of the Avon are now open".
Roger Houghton writes: "The pools and adjoining river provided opportunities for both swimmers
and non-swimmers to enjoy the water, but were probably used solely by male bathers.
Ian Gordon writes:
"The main pool is 137 by 38 ft, and there ia smaller pool (50 by 20 ft).
The cottage next to the pool dates from around 1814 and was the property of William Harry,
Duke of Cleveland, who used it a fishing lodge. After his death it was left to the council hence the name of Cleveland Baths - the pool used to communicate with the river. The cubicles were added in around 1870 in two wings from the cottage. There are original handrails and stone steps, and the Baths have been Grade II listed since 1982."
The Baths were closed for swimming by 1985 (subsequently used as a trout farm).
In June 2004, Bath & North East Somerset Council put it up for sale, at around £400,000 - but later the same month withdrew them from sale.
The Landmark Trust may be interested in the site, which would ensure restoration and some public access but may not be compatible with use for swimming.
Here are some more photographs, taken in June 2004.
For complete history please see Roger Houghton's website:
thebathnet
or Janet Smith's book, p.13
Campaign: In the process of forming a building preservation trust, probably to be called the Cleveland Baths Trust.
Bristol, Clifton Victoria Baths [CLOSED in 1990]
The Clifton Victoria Baths is the oldest Grade II* listed swimming pool in the UK, an example of a subscription bath built in 1849-1850 in Egyptian style. On 12 August 1897 the pool was purchased by the Corporation of Bristol for £3,025.
The Baths were shut round 1990, after allegedly springing a leak. On 8 April 1998 the pool was sold to Sovereign Housing Association for an undisclosed sum (rumoured to be £81,500).
The other newer Grade II* listed baths in the UK are the 1855 Greengate Baths, Salford; the 1870 municipal baths (Hugh Mason House), Ashton under Lyne, and the 1906 Victoria Baths, Manchester.
For complete history, please see Phil Goldsbrough's
Website:
Clifton Victoria Baths
Management Co. Ltd.; [alternative
website]
There are two black-and-white photographs and notes on the history of these baths in Janet Smith's book, p.14
Dec. 2003: BBC News item, reporting that plans to demolish Clifton Lido, and turn the site into flats have been withdrawn.
Campaign: The Clifton Victoria Baths Management Company Limited, formed in 1998.
Carterton Town Council Swimming Pool [CLOSED in 2003]
Recreation Ground, Swinbrook Road, Carterton, West Oxfordshire
Carterton Pool was built in the 1970s and is owned by Carterton Town
Council. The outdoor pool was one of three, the others are at Chipping Norton
and Woodstock, built in west Oxfordshire in the early 1970s. (If you've not
heard of Carterton perhaps you know RAF Brize Norton which is there).
Aerial photograph.
September 2001: The future of Carterton's outdoor swimming pool was
in doubt - with closure possible in 2003. Major repairs were needed, costing
around £100,000.
October 2001: It runs at a loss of about £22,000 a year. A grant towards running the pool from West Oxfordshire District Council will stop in 2003.
2003: Carterton's mayor Keith Stone said: "The pool needs extensive, costly refurbishment,
and it looks as if revenue losses will increase significantly." Estimates for renovating the Swinbrook Road pool are £100,000 -- equivalent to an extra £25 on council tax for each household in the town. It costs £25,000 a year to keep the pool open from May to September.
Half of this is paid for through town rates and half from a grant by West Oxfordshire District Council.
The pool shut for the last time on 7 September 2003. A new indoor pool opened in the town in November 2003.
Campaign: (name not known) organised a petition in 2003, and in just a few days had more than 200 signatures.
The Pier, Clacton-on-sea, Essex CO15 1QX
Tel: 01255 421115 (pier office)
The Clacton & District Local History Society webpage has some nice old photographs showing the pool.
Droitwich Spa Lido [closed in 2000, RE-OPENED 2007]
Droitwich Spa, Worcestershire WR9 8AA
[Entry moved to new webpage]
Hendy Outdoor Swimming Pool, Llanelli, Wales [CLOSED in 2002]
Heol y Parc, Hendy, Pontarddulais, Swansea SA4 0XF
The village of Hendy is about six miles east of Llanelli, in Carmarthenshire.
The 33 m x 15 m Hendy Outdoor Swimming Pool was built during the depression of the early 1930s, by out-of-work voluntary labour. The tools used during that period were primitive in comparison with today - pick axe, spade, wheelbarrows and trams loaned from nearby collieries. Funds to buy materials were raised locally and out of this money the volunteers were given a packet of 10 Woodbines for a day’s work or a bar of chocolate for the non-smokers.
The pool opened in 1933, and was run by the village community as a viable concern for the next 50 years. It was then taken over by Llanelli Council, which later became Carmarthenshire County Council in 1983.
From 2001 it was decided that the Community should run the facility, and Hendy Swimming Liaison Committee and Llanelli Swimming Club agreed a joint partnership to run the pool. However this proved to be the pool's last season.
Former committee chairman Derrick Lyons said:
"In 2001 there were 89 season ticket holders who visited the pool over 30 times, i.e. 2,670 visits. So the total is more than 4,000 visitors, probably closer to 5,000 - coming from a 10-mile radius."
The pool closed in 2002, as there was "serious pool erosion and inner wall collapse".
See these photographs of the pool from 1930s and 2001 on the Pontarddulais History website.
December 2004 to February 2005: Campaigners actively fighting to re-open the pool. Local people meet with Carmarthenshire County Council representatives to discuss the future of Hendy pool.
August 2005: Carmarthenshire County Council’s Executive Board commissioned a in-depth structural survey to assess the pool’s condition. The report concluded that: "the pool structure has reached the end of its useful life and, although it would be possible to undertake repairs, we are of the opinion that, in the long term, it would be more financially beneficial to remove the existing pool and provide a new structure". Officers said the cost of providing a new pool could be hundreds of thousands of pounds.
(Left to right) Assembly Member Catherine Thomas, Steve Lloyd-Janes and Nia Griffith MP - with the pool in the background.
Steve is Vice-chair of the Pool Committee.
April 2006: Petition launched. 1300 names were collected in two weeks.
This was reported by BBC News
Nia Griffith, Labour MP for Llanelli, believes Hendy Outdoor Swimming Pool could attract funding thanks to residents' enthusiasm, plus their proven ability to run the pool.
She said, "There are a number of avenues to explore, such as European funding and various grants, and exciting possibilities with regard to innovative methods of heating the water."
Nia Griffith attended the Reviving Lidos conference, in London in March 2006, representing Hendy.
For the most recent information, please search the Messages in Lidos Yahoo Group.
Campaign: Save the Hendy Pool Campaign - information on Community Councillor Steve Lloyd-Janes webpages.
Other websites:
London Pools Campaign page on Hendy
pontarddulais.com/
Broomhill Swimming Pool, Ipswich [CLOSED in 2002]
Sherrington Road, Ipswich, Suffolk
Photo: Paul Beaumont
Grade II Listed, built by the Borough Surveyor’s Department, 1938 for
£17,000. Owned by Ipswich Borough Council. It is a 50 m open-air swimming pool
with high board diving, sun bathing terraces and cafeteria.
2002: Rob Pearce, of the Friends of Broomhill Pool writes:
"Ipswich Borough Council spent £80,000 on the pool five years ago giving the pool a five year lease of life. This gave them five years to carry out further essential repairs on the pool."
The pool has not opened since 2002. See the item on the pool closure on Ed Broom's website, (26 Feb 2003)
2003: The Friends collect 12,000 signatures on a petition to save the pool. Repairs have not yet taken place. In September 2003, IBC establishes the Broomhill Steering Group to oversee the investigation and development of options for the retention of Broomhill Swimming Pool.
2004: In February 2004 the pool was visited by representatives of the Heritage Lottery Fund. The pool remains shut while the Council examines "the future of swimming facilities in the town".
February 2005: Griff Rhys Jones visits and urges the Broomhill Pool Trust to fight for the pool and make it "a voting issue."
August 2005: On 23 August 2005 the Executive of Ipswich Borough Council voted through up to £58,450 to fund a full scale feasibility study. The Council's document stated that:
"a refurbished Broomhill Swimming Pool would contribute to the Council's aims and objectives... improving the quality of life for people who live in, work in, or visit Ipswich ...."
Sally Wainman writes:
We are currently waiting to sort out the details, as the Broomhill Pool Trust will be responsible for organising the study and liaising with the firm appointed to do it. In September 2005 the pool site was open for the Open Heritage weekend and 700 people visited.
2006: A full scale Feasibility Study is taking place, taking 8 months until September 2006: to include up-to-date surveys, plans for the possible conversion of the changing-room area, site visits to other lidos, eg Parliament Hill Fields, Brockwell, public consultation etc. The professional team is headed by Bill Haward, of WPP Architects. The Broomhill Pool Trust liaises with both the team and Ipswich Borough Council.
For the most recent information, please search the Messages in Lidos Yahoo Group.
[Aerial photograph © 2001 Eastern Counties Newspapers Group]
Short film by James Sharpe: The Pool
Campaign website (with numerous photographs): Broomhill Pool Trust
Malmesbury Outdoor Pool [CLOSED in 2003]
Old Alexander Road, Malmesbury, Wiltshire SN16 0DT
It is a 33-yard outdoor swimming pool opened in 1961, plus snack bar.
Closed permanently on 31 Aug 2003 following the opening of the indoor pool. Site due to be redeveloped for housing.
Graham Kelly wrote (June 2004):
"Apparently the old pool had been heavily vandalised but if anything it was in better condition than when I last saw it in September 2003. It's intact apart from the cubicle doors and a couple of benches which have been removed. I also went to have a look at Malmesbury's new all-singing, all-dancing indoor pool but ironically found it closed due to some technical difficulties they were having...."
(Graham's photographs of closed pool, to follow).
Campaign: (not known)
Marsden Park Open Air Pool [CLOSED in 1999]
Walton Lane, Nelson, Lancashire
1930s pool was "set in lovely surroundings with sunbathing lawns, changing, toilet and shower facilities and cafe".
1 October 2004: BBC reports that the abandoned pool is to be filled in.
See: BBC News webpage
Nottingham: Bulwell Lido [demolished]
Ken Martin Swimming Centre, Hucknall
Lane, Bulwell, Nottingham NG6 8AP
1930s pool, included a cafe. It was alongside a 25m x 12.5m indoor pool and teaching pool.
In 2003 Nottingham City Council carried out a Leisure Centre Consultation at which all the leisure centres in the city were considered. This put the Bulwell Lido under extreme threat. They estimated that they need to spend £90,000 before 'it is safe to re-open it'.
18 May 2004: Nottingham City councillors voted to close four of Nottingham's swimming pools. A proposed £18m transformation programme would see Bulwell Lido close as well as indoor pools at Lenton, Beechdale and Noel Street. The council said the plan is essential because of a huge repairs bill, falling numbers of swimmers and an over-provision of pools."
So the pool did not open for the 2004 season, however the adjoining indoor pool remained open.
Supporters of Bulwell Lido held a public meeting on 19 May 2004.
Ian Lambert writes:
"Around 100 people attended the meeting, organised by the local Labour Party - who disgracefully had already passed a motion in favour of the Lido's closure. The council seemed to be making no distinction between the Lido and the indoor pools. I said that the Lido provided a unique experience for all ages and for people from all ethnic groups, and it was more than just a swimming pool. It was a safe environment for families and children to have a day out and talk, and chill out, etc. I fear it may well be a lost cause though, as the land is valued at close to one million pounds."
Further protest marches, etc. followed.
22 June 2004: Nottingham City Council announce the closure of the last remaining Lido in the county. The indoor Ken Martin Swimming Centre next door remains open.
February 2005: The Bulwell Lido site was auctioned off in London for £1.22 million. A Nottingham City Council spokeswoman said: "The lido has been purchased by a local building company. We believe the company might now seek planning permission to build new homes on the site. Contracts have been exchanged." She added that, once the cost of the sale was deducted, the money raised was 'ring-fenced' to finance improvements at the adjoining indoor Ken Martin Swimming Centre.
August 2006: Dominik writes:
"I am a Nottingham resident and unfortunately Bullwell Lido has been demolished and new homes are being built. I visited the place today to have a look. Thus there is no Lido anymore in my area."
Campaign: Save Our Lido, formed in 2004.
Pontypridd: Ynysangharad Swimming Pool [CLOSED in 1991]
Ynysangharad Park, Ynysangharad Road, Pontypridd, Mid Glamorgan CF37 4DA
The paddling pool
In 1873 farmland alongside the River Taff owned by Gordon Lenox, the
director of the nearby Brown Lenox ironworks, was made into a cricket
pitch. In 1923 this area was transformed into attractive parkland called
Ynysangharad Park to be a War Memorial for those who died in the Great
War. Over the next few years a bowling green, rugby pitch, outdoor
swimming pool, tennis courts and bandstand were added to the existing
cricket pitch with its small pavilion.
The small outdoor swimming pool from the 1930s is affectionately called 'The Puddle' by locals. Recent improvements to The Puddle have included a water slide and a statue of a crocodile. These are a far cry from the old diving platform that was situated in the centre of the pool. The lido was shut in 1991 by the former Taff Ely District Council.
In 2002 a feasibility study was be completed on "all options for swimming
facilities for the people of Pontypridd, including Ynysangharad War Memorial Park".
In 2003 the renovation of the Lido in Ynysangharad Park was announced
by Rhondda Cynon Taf Council as one of several improvement schemes which were
now ready to move forward. The council is consulting with the Welsh historic buildings
agency Cadw on the best way of carrying out repairs while preserving the
character of the pool. The cost of restoring it as a pool has been estimated at £600,000.
Andy writes: "This was the grandest park lido I had the pleasure of swimming in, before it closed in 1991".
Website:
Rhondda Cynon
Taf Council webpage,
See also part of the
Cricket Archive
Campaign: (none known)
Reading: King's Meadow Swimming Baths [CLOSED: 1970s]
Kings Meadow Road, Reading RG1 8BP
This Grade II listed 120 x 45ft 154,000-gallon pool opened in 1903 and was part of a pair of riverside open air swimming pools; originally one for the men (from 1864, now demolished) and one for the women. The "Womens Bathing Place" had changing booths and showers, but the pool was unheated - it used a water supply derived from the adjacent River Thames.
"A continuous current of water will be maintained in the bath, by the difference in level between the headwater at Caversham Lock and the tail water at Sonning Reach."
Robert O’Neill writes:
"The remaining brick built colonnade and entrance lobby have all the architectural charms of the Victorian era: cast iron columns, mahogany entrance kiosk, tiled surround and handrails around the pool. The pool still has water in it, but the roof and the changing area have been butchered. Over the entrance there is a little tower and most of the roof is still tiled." (During the lifetime of the pool the water treatment method changed and a heating system was installed.) It closed for public swimming in 1974.
The building is still in use by the Reading Branch of the British Sub Aqua Club (see link below), though they no longer use the pool.
2003: Reading Borough Council publishes its Thames Parks Plan.
2004: Plans by Reading Borough Council to demolish the graffiti-covered building, and develop King's Meadow and Caversham Lock Island (owned by the Environment Agency) into a hotel, apartments, etc., with development partner MacLeer and Rush. See the local newspaper report.
The campaign group’s vision for the building includes an open-air swimming pool in the summer that could be turned into an ice rink in the winter. They also believe a pavilion ought to be added to one end of the building to provide facilities, including showers, changing rooms, toilets and possibly a café.
July 2004: The Reading East MP Jane Griffiths presented a petition to parliament to save the Baths.
August 2004: English Heritage makes a U-turn decision to grant the pool Grade II listed status. In response, a RBC councillor said: "It looks like a run-down railway platform. We have got a derelict building in one of the most outstanding sites. This pool has been closed for some 30 years, and I and my predecessors have tried to see whether we could find some sort of viable use for that building. Basically, all of the re-use schemes that we came up with were found to be either unacceptable or unviable."
For further details and photographs of this lido, see Janet Smith's book, p.166
Websites:
King's Meadow Baths (from Anne Jessel)
London Pools Campaign webpage on this pool
Reading BSAC - history
Reading Waterspace Report (PDF)
Campaign: Save King's Meadow Campaign, set up by Robert O'Neill, in 2004.
Ringshall: Deer Leap Swimming Pool [CLOSED in 1996]
Little Gaddesden, Berkhamsted, HP4 1PE
[Details, to follow.]
2004: Developers trying to build two detached houses on the old Deer Leap swimming pool site in Little Gaddesden are appealing against the council’s decision to refuse the plans. Coleman Properties lodged the appeal last month having originally submitted plans for one five bedroom and one six bedroom house on the long-vacated Ringshall plot in January.
The once much-loved swimming pool has been the subject of many planning applications in the
past. Two years ago Dacorum Borough Council turned down plans for five detached houses on
the site. And in 1999, they refused a bid to renew planning permission granted in 1993 for squash courts and changing rooms.
Royston Outdoor Pool [CLOSED in 2005]
Newmarket Road, Royston, Herts, SG8 7DX
A heated open-air 23m swimming pool, built with an adjoining cinema in the
1930. (The pool subsequently closed, but re-opened in 1968). Now has a water slide,
paddling pool and raised sun terrace. Open between late May and September and floodlit for
evening sessions. The original entrance building is now an Indian
restaurant. The 30-seat cinema next door was demolished in September 2002.
Now administered by Hitchin Swimming Centre.
Final season: 2005
To be demolished in 2006 to make way for housing. A new indoor Leisure Centre opened nearby in 2005.
St Neots Outdoor Swimming Pool [CLOSED in 2003]
Huntingdon Street, St Neots, Cambridgeshire
This 50 metre open air swimming pool is now demolished.
Baylis Park, Stoke Poges Lane, Slough, Berkshire SL1 3PB
The swimming pool at Baylis House Hotel was opened on 27 May 1933 in time for one of the best summers of the 20th century.
Elias Kupfermann writes:
"In 1962 the pool was enlarged by Slough Borough Council which also included
the replacement of the filtration plant and also to make it a heated outdoor
pool. The new pool was rectangular in shape and measured 165ft x 56 ft providing
two shallow ends with a depth of 3ft. In the centre of the pool was a
12ft 6ins diving pit - there was a 5 metre diving stage, plus 3 and 1
metre spring boards. There were dressing cubicles to accommodate 2,500
bathers.
To save Baylis House from property speculators, Slough Borough Council bought the house and 16 acres of surrounding land in 1939. Since 1990 the house has been owned by Baylis House Ltd., but the council retained the park and the area of the pool. It is currently one big planted flower bed."
Website for the house:
Baylis House -
History
Sutton Park: Keeper's Pool [CLOSED in 2003]
Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, West Midlands B73 6BU
Sutton Park is Europe's largest urban park - 2,400 acres (970 hectares). Within it are a number of lakes of which Keeper's Pool was originally built as a fish pond within the 12th century medieval deer park.
The outdoor swimming lido was built in 1887. In 2003 vandals burned down the changing facilities, and the lido closed this year. All buildings were demolished.
see photo by Mike Kemble and the site is now being returned to its natural state [early 2005].
6 May 2004: Neil Connor writes in the Birmingham Post:
"Controversial plans to develop one of Birmingham's oldest parks have been forced
back to the drawing board by "people power". The city council last night announced
it was reviewing its plans for an outdoor education centre and lido in Sutton Park
following vociferous opposition from local campaigners. The £3 million project
envisaged a string of new facilities at the Boldmere Gate area of the park, on the
edge of Powell's Pool.
However, it was announced last night that no building would take place around
Powell's Pool - the most contentious part of the proposals - and an alternative
location in the park was being sought for the centre complex.
In addition, the public will decide, via consultation, whether a new lido should
replace the facility destroyed by vandals last March. Groups including Friends of
Sutton Park and the Sutton Coldfield Civic Society expressed concern over the
siting of the new facilities.
Councillor Hood told The Birmingham Post it had been "made clear" there
would not be any building around Powell's Pool. "That idea has been scrapped," he
said. "We have got plans to continue with an outdoor pursuits centre but can't
say where that is. It will not mean any other building in Sutton Park. We're not
too sure whether the public still want a lido in Sutton Park and we need to continue
consulting with people on that." "
Websites:
Friends of
Sutton Park Association
Sutton Coldfield Civic Society
Sutton Park Lakes
- part of Peter Coxhead's Sutton Park website.
The Lido, Worthing [CLOSED, for swimming, in 1988]
Marine Parade, Worthing, West Sussex BN11 3PX
Tel. 01903 213486
"The elegant Grade II listed Victorian birdcage bandstand [built in
1897] later became a Lido". This was open until 1988, when it held the dolphins from Brighton
for a year whilst their permanent accommodation was being rebuilt. In the winter of 1989-90 it was
finally built over.
It is now a Family Entertainment Centre called "Ayers Leisure Lido".
Andy P writes:
"Interestingly the pool is still intact underneath a new floor, and is now used for storage. So,
maybe one day!"
View from the sea, 2003
Aerial photograph (lido is
on the left)
Campaign: none!!
Oliver Merrington & Andy Hoines, 2005.
Updated by Oliver, August 2006
Minor edits, June 2007
