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Hilsea Lido London Road, Portsmouth, Hampshire Hilsea Lido was designed in 1933 and completed in 1935 to the designs of the Portsmouth City Council Engineer’s Department. It was built in the prevalent modern style, with strong nautical imagery and can be said to be a relatively early example of the style in Britain. It covers a large site of about eight acres and has survived relatively well – it has maintained its adult pool, children’s pool and function suite and is still capable of being used. Hilsea Lido, however, has for sometime now been under threat. Portsmouth City Council’s Leisure Department consider the pool and surrounding group of buildings as surplus to requirements and expensive. At the same time, the building has a terrific local following and remains popular when open. A policy of ‘Demolition by Stealth’ seems to describe the Council’s relationship with the Lido complex. At strategic level the Portsmouth City Plan 2001 – 2011 sets out that the area of the Lido should be retained for public use, but makes no mention of whether or not the buildings are to be retained or demolished. At present, the Council only minimally promotes the commencement of the new season and the opening hours of the Lido. The restricted opening period of the complex – it is closed and unused for much of the summer - has resulted in users voicing their concerns in the local press in 2003, pointing out that they were unable to make use of the Lido when the weather was at its best. Despite the inaccessibility of the Lido, since the Lido re-opened for the 2002 season (it was closed for the whole of 2001) it has been more popular with each passing year. In 2003 the number of attendants resulted in the local press carrying stories that on several days people were denied entrance to the main pool because demand was so high. Portsmouth City Council Leisure Services see the Lido as redundant if a sports centre that will house an Olympic sized swimming pool nearby gains funding from Sport England. It is probable that, if the new sports centre is built, Hilsea Lido’s main pool and changing rooms will be demolished, whilst only the smaller pool would be kept in order to offer a family orientated recreation space for the north part of Portsmouth. An initial application to list Lido was rejected in 1994. In 2002 the Twentieth Century Society applied for Hilsea Lido to be spot listed, citing a change of planning law and present day situations. A rejection of this application was finally received from the Department of Culture Media and Sport in October 2003. Some Councillors believe that Lido complex could be utilised to serve the local residents better. The present Hilsea councillor has pointed out that the complex could also fulfil a civic role; Hilsea has lacked a community centre since the early 1990s. A business plan to establish the viability of the proposal is underway. It is to be hoped that the Council will recognise the value that Hilsea residents place in this building. An imaginative role for Hilsea Lido would enrich the area and maintain the presence of a distinct and popular public building. Tom Houston
Current Status No major refurbishments or refits have taken place since last year. The Twentieth Century Society will continue to monitor the situation. Further reading Contacts Image credits |
