Investment in a lido is rarely limited to the water. Decisions can cover the repair of historic buildings, the condition of changing and fitness spaces, the management of a site and the range of activities it is intended to accommodate. For communities using or campaigning for these facilities, those choices affect whether a familiar place remains a pool alone or supports a wider pattern of local use.
In brief
- Saltdean’s 2015 restoration plans combined the future of a Grade II* listed Art-Deco lido with a wider mix of proposed community facilities.
- Brockwell Lido’s planned improvements focus on an operating swimming and sports venue, including gym equipment, training space, flooring and lane ropes.
- A Lido Toolkit launched in 2024 reflects the range of decisions involved in restoring, managing and maintaining these public-facing facilities.
Examples at Saltdean and Brockwell in London illustrate that distinction without suggesting a single model for every project. One involved plans, announced in 2015, to restore a significant listed coastal complex and bring several facilities back into use. The other concerns planned upgrades at an established swimming and sports venue. Both place lidos within wider questions around health and local leisure facilities, but their buildings, proposed works and management arrangements differ.
Saltdean’s plans paired restoration with new uses
Saltdean Lido opened in 1938 as the centrepiece of the new seaside resort at Saltdean. Its Art-Deco building and three pools make up England’s only Grade II* listed lido. That status means the future of the swimming venue is closely connected to the preservation and use of the structure around it.
The funding announcement in 2015 described a project at an earlier stage of development, rather than a completed transformation. It set out plans to renovate and revitalise the entire site, returning the 1930s building and pools to use. The proposed programme included a heated outdoor pool, indoor and outdoor play areas, a café, gym, community rooms, function rooms and a revived library.
A site designed for more than swimming
Those proposals matter because they set out several functions for one location. Swimming would have sat alongside exercise, play, indoor activity and space for local gatherings. The plan did not treat the pool as separate from the building’s other rooms or from the services expected to operate there.
Local organisation was also central to the project’s history. A community-led campaign resulted in Saltdean Lido Community Interest Company being named preferred leaseholder in 2013. The arrangement linked the care of a listed landmark to a group formed through local action, while leaving the planned mix of facilities specific to Saltdean’s own circumstances.
Its history and scale should not be taken as a template for other lidos. A Grade II* listed coastal complex with three pools raises different questions from a smaller venue or a site already operating every day. Saltdean nevertheless shows why restoration proposals can extend beyond repairs, addressing how historic spaces might be used and managed in the future.
Brockwell focuses on an operating leisure facility
Brockwell Lido presents a different case. The 89-year-old South London swimming and sports facility was due to move to Lambeth Council’s in-house health and leisure service, Active Lambeth, from 1 July 2026. More than £250,000 was committed to enhancing the facilities, with particular attention to the gym.
The planned works at Brockwell included new fitness equipment, a refreshed strength and functional training area, new flooring and new lane ropes. The gym was expected to close briefly while equipment was installed, while swimming and group exercise classes were expected to continue.
Practical upgrades within a familiar setting
The work is more focused than the Saltdean plans. Rather than returning a vacant historic complex to use, it concerns improvements to the equipment and spaces within an active venue. Lane ropes, flooring and training areas may appear modest alongside a major restoration scheme, but they are part of how a swimming and sports facility operates for the people who use it.
Brockwell was described by the council as both a community asset and a social space, as well as a place for exercise. That description does not establish a universal outcome for lido investment. It does recognise that visitors may use the same facility in different ways, whether for swimming, gym sessions, classes or time spent at a well-known local venue.
The contrast with Saltdean is instructive. One project brought a listed building, pools and a proposed range of rooms into a long-term plan. The other directs investment towards defined improvements at a site already serving swimmers and sports users. In both cases, the choices made about facilities are inseparable from the role the venue is expected to play locally.
Projects require choices about buildings and stewardship
Lido proposals can bring together conservation, leisure provision, governance and the practical running of public-facing spaces. In February 2024, Community Leisure UK and the Heritage Fund launched a Lido Toolkit for work on lido-related projects. Its launch reflects the fact that restoring or improving a site involves more than deciding what work is needed around a pool.
Groups and operators must consider the condition of a building, the facilities a venue is intended to provide and the arrangements for running it. These questions do not produce identical answers. The priorities at a listed coastal lido can differ from those at an urban swimming and sports facility, even where both are described as community assets.
A proposed restoration at Grange Lido has been framed around returning a community asset with intended health, wellbeing and cultural societal benefits. The language identifies aims for that scheme, not completed results. It also underlines the care needed when discussing such projects: ambitions for a venue should be distinguished from outcomes that have been achieved.
For readers, the significance of lido investment lies in these concrete choices. A programme may preserve a building, renew sports equipment, retain swimming provision or create space for additional activities. What follows depends on the individual site, its condition, its management and the plans put forward for it. Saltdean and Brockwell show two distinct ways in which heritage and leisure infrastructure can be considered together.
Featured image. Source: Pexels. Credit: Jacob Yavin. License: Pexels License.
