What Should Happen To Worthing's Iconic Lido? Councillors Call On The Public For Ideas

Residents are being urged to get involved in shaping the future of Worthing’s iconic Lido seafront structure.

A major consultation by Worthing Borough Council begins today asking residents to suggest future uses of the Lido and also put forward possible options for use.

These include:

• To renew the space as a family entertainment centre 

• Return it to its pre 1957 status as a place for live entertainment with bandstand

• Return the full Lido development with swimming pool which opened in 1957

• Changing its core usage

The survey comes as the Council has submitted a multi-million pound bid to the Government’s Levelling Up Fund to revive the Lido. However without significant external funding, some options, especially the swimming pool, might prove difficult for the Council to afford.

The survey, which is online today, says that work to repair the substructure to make it ready for redevelopment could cost up to £10m and has to be done in conjunction with deciding the option of what will eventually sit above it.  

Deputy Leader of Worthing Borough Council, Cllr Carl Walker, said that having launched the Big Listen campaign in which officers and councillors have been out and about asking residents for their views on the future of the town, it was only right that a major effort to find out what people thought about the Lido was made.

"The Big Listen is a rock solid commitment to our residents to listen to them first, not just hand down decisions we have made," he said.

"While the full cost of redeveloping the Lido might be tricky to fund, before we look in depth at options we want to hear from residents first. It is their Lido not ours and we are committed to informing our decision making in the light of what they say.

"If there are clear favourites for future use we will do all we can to make them a reality so please take part in this Big Listen survey so we can get the best picture possible about what you want the future of this iconic landmark to look like."

History

The Lido was originally built as a bandstand enclosure in 1925 on the site of the old ‘bird cage’ band stand which dates from 1897. The current ‘D’ shaped enclosure was built on an extended elevated substructure over the foreshore. 

The swimming pool was added in 1957, which is when the structure became known as The Lido, the pool being subsequently decommissioned in 1989 with a concrete slab placed over it. Harsh sea conditions, age and the extra weight of the swimming pool and subsequent slab has taken its toll on the substructure, both concrete surface and pillars that support the base.

The survey asks residents about their current use of the Lido, what they would like to see in the future, how much they would expect to pay for any entertainment and whether they would volunteer to help with its upkeep. The current tenant of the Lido is fully involved with developments.

The Council says as the Lido is a Grade II listed structure any reconstruction of the facility will require Listed Building Consent and any proposed changes to the facility must be commercially viable.

Residents can fill in the survey here, but printed copies are also available at the Town Hall reception and at the Lido itself. Residents can also have their say at any Big Listen event in the next few months. Look out for the Big Listen signs and have your say. The consultation will end on October 2nd 2022.

Information supplied by Worthing Borough Council.