Construction work to the iconic Art Deco lido building in Saltdean is underway, however contractors have found the building to be in a worse state than previously expected.
Work follows a "12-year crusade" by residents to have the building restored for public use, but expert surveys had been unable to predict the extent of work needed to restore it to its former glory.
A statement on the Saltdean Lido Community Interest Company page on Facebook reads:
"Unfortunately, the condition of the concrete building is much worse than all the expert surveys expected and this has meant that some hydroblasting had to be delayed as it was too dangerous to continue until some repair work had been carried out.
"We are now at the point where we can complete the hydroblasting but this can be particularly noisy at times and we had hoped to get all of this done before the pool opened for the summer.
"We expect this part of the work to be completed this week and, where possible, acoustic barriers will be installed by the contractors to try and reduce the noise. No work is undertaken at weekends."
The pool, operated by Fusion-Lifestyle, may need to close for slightly longer hours here and there while the worst of the noisy work is carried out, but details of this will be found on the online booking system.
"We appreciate everyone’s understanding and patience while the restoration continues. The very poor state of the building means it will cost more and delays are inevitable, which brings all sorts of other challenges to the Saltdean Lido CIC volunteer team.
"We will share further updates as we bring new life back to this iconic Art Deco building."
Work this week (starting August 1) is not expected to affect early and late lane swimming sessions and the pool is expected to open for full/half day lido sessions from tomorrow (Aug 2).
And if you were wondering what was going on underneath the tarpaulin that covers the building, watch this video, shared from Facebook on the Saltdean Lido Community Interest Company page.
The 12 year crusade by local residents to save and restore Saltdean Lido continues and construction work to bring this main building back into public use is underway. Unfortunately, the condition of the concrete building is much worse than all the expert surveys expected and this has meant that some hydroblasting had to be delayed as it was too dangerous to continue until some repair work had been carried out. We are now at the point where we can complete the hydroblasting but this can be particularly noisy at times and we had hoped to get all of this done before the pool opened for the summer. We expect this part of the work to be completed this week and, where possible, acoustic barriers will be installed by the contractors to try and reduce the noise. No work is undertaken at weekends. Fusion-Lifestyle, who operate the pool, have been informed and some changes to opening times may occur to avoid swimmers and staff being impacted by the worst of the noise. Details will be reflected in the Fusion on-line booking systems. We appreciate everyone’s understanding and patience while the restoration continues. The very poor state of the building means it will cost more and delays are inevitable, which brings all sorts of other challenges to the Saltdean Lido CIC volunteer team We will share further updates as we bring new life back to this iconic Art Deco building. The on-going work this week will not affect the early and late lane swimming sessions and we hope to open the pool for full/half day lido sessions from Wednesday
Posted by Saltdean Lido on Sunday, July 31, 2022
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