Lido plan for leisure centre site moves forward

A council has given the green light for the redevelopment of social centre into a lido to move forward.

Winchester City Council's cabinet voted in favour of disposing of the former River Park social centre site and selecting Sea Lanes as the preferred bidder.

Justin Rowles, from Winchester Lido Group, told a meeting on Wednesday such pools were "community hubs" that benefited people's social lives, as well as mental and physical health.

Meeting chair, Lib Dem councillor Martin Tod, said it was "the right decision" to lead the way forward to "a really good outcome for the city".

The local authority's lido petition, which ran between July 2021 and January 2022, received more than 3,000 signatures and Rowles said "tens of thousands engaged with the campaign on social media".

"They haven't simply been asking for a swimming pool, they've been asking for a place," he said.

He said in a community that faced "challenges around physical inactivity, mental health and loneliness", the lido could "make a contribution to all of those".

Sea Lanes proposal for the redevelopment included an outdoor pool, three outdoor padel courts and a cafe/restaurant.

Rowles said Sea Lanes had "the experience, vision and track record to create that new place in Winchester and deliver lasting social health and economic value".

Tod said he liked it "for all the hard-headed reasons" but was also "looking forward to the positivity, joy and relaxing by an outdoor pool".

As part of the consideration, the council took into account its Carbon Neutrality Action Plan and its "commitment to achieving net zero".

It said the re-use of "this previously developed site which provides economic, social and community benefit would align and support this aim".