Worthing Borough Council gives update on lido revival

Worthing Borough Council has submitted a multi-million-pound bid to the government’s Levelling Up Fund to revive the Grade II listed structure.

Several options to reinvigorate the Marine Parade landmark are being considered, including renewing the space as a family entertainment centre, returning it to its pre 1957 status as a place for live entertainment with a bandstand, bringing back a heated swimming pool, or completely changing its core use.

However, the council warned that without “significant external funding” some options, especially the swimming pool, might "prove difficult" for the council to afford.

The lido is currently used as a family entertainment centre and arcade

The council said work to repair the concrete substructure to make it ready for redevelopment could cost up to £10 million and has to be done in conjunction with deciding the option of what will eventually sit above it.

And it has now launched a major consultation asking residents to suggest future uses of the lido.

Read more: Hotel, theatre or food court could be created in £2M lido revamp

Deputy leader of Worthing Borough Council Carl Walker 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.”

The lido was originally built in 1925

The lido was originally built as a bandstand enclosure in 1925 on the site of the old bird cage bandstand which dates from 1897.

The current "D2 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 was decommissioned in 1989 with a concrete slab placed over it.

Worthing Lido in 2016, picture by Graham Elliot

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.

Residents can fill in the online survey, but printed copies are also available at the town hall reception and at the lido itself.