New £900k Fitness Pavilion For Tooting Bec Lido
To house new fitness rooms, toilets, changing roms and first aid facilities
Work has begun on the construction of a new £900,000 extra pavillion at Tooting's Lido for workout and exercise classes as well as new toilets, changing rooms and a first aid room.
Financing for the extension comes from Wandsworth council, the South London Swimming Club (SLSC) and Sport England.
The pavilion will house a multi-purpose exercise room that would be used by the SLSC to enhance and increase participation in their annual programme of swimming and triathlon competitions and could also be hired for other recreational activities. A new courtyard will also provide additional space for sunbathers.
Tooting Bec Lido
The pavilion is being built at the deep end of the Lido - Europe’s second biggest outdoor freshwater swimming pool – and is contained entirely within the lido’s existing boundaries. It will not encroach onto Tooting Bec Common.
The council has provided £150,000 towards the scheme with a further £500,000 provided by the SLSC. Sport England is contributing £250,00.
The lido is one of London’s best loved open air pools and has been described in the national press as a “south London treasure”. It is a huge 91 metres long and has a separate pool for toddlers as well as space for sunbathing and picnics.
Over the past decade £1.5m has been spent by the council in improving the facilities and ensuring the pool's long term future.
In recent years it has been named by Time Out magazine as the best in place in the capital for 'uninterrupted swimming' and as the 'Best Outdoor Swim in London' in The London Pools Campaign's Golden Goggles Award.
The lido is managed by Places for People (PfPL) on behalf of Wandsworth Council and is open to the general public from the spring bank holiday weekend until the end of September. Opening hours are 6am to 8pm until August 31 and 6am to 5pm from that date until September 30. The pool remains open to members of the SLSC the whole year round.
For more information about the lido call (020) 8871 7198 or visit Tooting Bec Lido
For more information about the South London Swimming Club, details of how to join and information about the many events it arranges each year visit SLSC
July 20, 2016