LETTER: Could Lido be fully restored?

It was interesting to read the Herald's article on the possible returning of the WorthingLido back into a swimming pool.

Readers of a certain age will probably remember the campaign in the late ’80s, led by Eric Cocayne, Worthing’s then conservation officer, to stop the closure of the Lido as a swimming pool.

Although that campaign ultimately failed, what Eric did manage to do, against fierce opposition, was to stop the swimming pool being filled in with concrete.

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Instead, a removable concrete slab was placed over the existing swimming pool and, as far as I know, the original swimming pool is still there.

Although due to lack of proper maintenance the pool developed a small leak just before it closed, new building methods make this problem easily solved by fitting a stainless steel sleeve inside the existing pool.

The original pool also had

a removable floor that could

be fitted over the swimming pool so it could be used as a dance floor or concert area, and this was still in use up to the late ’70s.

There are now also available reasonably priced sliding roofs that can be fitted, that could turn the Lido into an all-weather venue if the will was there.

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I”m afraid the Lido is another example of the short-sightedness and lack of vision in not recognizing the popularity and commercial usefulness of a beautiful building that was left to us by previous generations.

Mike Barrett

Worthing Labour Party

Cranworth Road, Worthing

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