CAMPAIGNERS who want to create a new outdoor swimming pool have asked the council if they can take over part of Eastville Park.
Eastville Park Lido submitted an ‘expression of interest’ in taking on the Old Bowling Green, a space opposite the park’s Nissen hut, to the city council in August.
The volunteer-run group estimates the cost of building a lido, sauna and cafe would be up to £7 million, to be funded by a National Lottery bid, grant applications and crowdfunding.
But the proposal is just one of two projects to create a new cafe in the park: the Friends of Eastville Park are also proposing one as part of a “moonshot” regeneration scheme, and plan their own multi-million pound Lottery bid.
The city council asked Eastville Park Lido, a non-profit Community Interest Company, to make an initial outline proposal in June.
A council committee will consider it in September, before deciding whether to invite the group to make a full application for a Community Asset Transfer.
That would involve giving Eastville Park Lido a 35-year lease on the land, which would remain council-owned but controlled by the CIC.
‘Striking shortage’ of outdoor swimming provision
In its 37-page expression of interest application, the group said: “Bristol has a striking shortage of safe, accessible and welcoming outdoor swimming provision – and East Bristol has none.
“Existing facilities are heavily oversubscribed and inaccessible to most residents. Clifton Lido has a closed waiting list of over 2,000 people and charges £25 for a two-hour swim, while Henleaze Lake faces similar pressure. Meanwhile, Bristol’s rivers remain dirty, unsafe and unusable for everyday swimming.”
Its proposal includes a 30m heated outdoor swimming pool, sauna, café and hireable community space, bike storage and landscaping.
The group says the lido would have a “net-zero-carbon design”, including heat pumps and solar panels, and cost from £5-7m.
If the site is transferred, Eastville Park Lido would begin fundraising this year, and continue a consultation process it says has already involved more than 4,500 households in the area.
The process of finalising the design, planning and building would take place over the next three years, with a view to opening the pool in 2030.
£27m ‘local impact’
Director Sarah Moore said the group has developed a “detailed operational business plan” which sets out how the lido will contribute £80,000 a year in rent to the council and fund community activity in the park, while charging £5 per swim for users.
She said job creation and improvements in health would have a “local impact” worth £27m over the first ten years of operation.
Sarah said: “There’s thousands of people within 15 minutes’ walk.
“We know from our community consultations that local people are really keen on having a pool, and we’re absolutely committed to ensuring it serves our local community.”
The group says it wants to “challenge the typically white, middle-class version of a lido”, with dedicated Muslim women and children-only, LGBTQIA+ groups, women-only and disabled-friendly sessions, as well as school and youth, cold-water and “full-moon” swims, and says there is an appetite for year-round opening.
It describes the site as “the perfect home for a People’s Pool”.
Old lido site ruled out
The park’s original lido was built in 1905 but was abandoned after being hit and damaged by a German bomb that killed four people during an air raid in 1940.
Sarah said the group’s starting point had been to see whether the old lido site could be brought back into use.
She said the presence of an active badger sett and the high cost of removing the remains of the old pool ruled it out, along with its distance from the bus stops, car and bike parking facilities used by park visitors.
Sarah said: “The site we’re proposing is really accessible, well lit and safe to get in and out of.”
Friends group has plans for same site
The Old Bowling Green site also forms part of the plans published by the Friends of Eastville Park for a restoration of the entire park, which the group plans to make a Heritage Lottery Fund bid for.
The Friends want to use the site as a “forest/sensory garden and workshop space to hire”, supporting vulnerable people to enjoy green space.
Their project also includes a new cafe on the site of the old bowling pavilion, renovation of the lake and play area, enhanced sports provision and a peace garden within the old lido garden site.
Friends group chair Sarah West said: “We have published our proposal on our website, sent it to the Park Management team, Area 5 Committee leaders, and council officers and await their decision to supply a letter of support that will begin a transformation of our city park that hasn’t been seen for over 100 years; a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make our park a strong and sustainable community asset for now and future generations.
“It took over six months to prepare, £40,000 of fundraising to show we can, and we feel this is the moment that Eastville gets the investment the community deserves.
“A permanent cafe, more toilets, a repaired lake, and new buildings that serve the community in ways the Nissen hut community hub is too small to accommodate, and of course additional sports, play, and nature habitat provisions.
“This bid stands to transform the whole park for the whole community. In doing so we preserve and enhance the green space our city forebears fought hard to secure, without selling out to development that would harm the character of the place.”
Lido group director Sarah Moore said: “We are really keen to work with the Friends of Eastville Park and to engage with them.
“We feel like there’s room for everybody, with all the different ideas we’re bringing.”
The lido was first proposed in 2019 and was one of eight projects included in the council’s Future Parks scheme in 2023 – but Future Parks was wound up before any decision was made.
Eastville ward city councillor Ed Fraser said residents had contacted him to share their views on the lido proposal.
He said: “It’s pleasing to see ideas on how more facilities can be provided in Eastville Park to improve public health, but there are some practical questions that should be answered through any CAT process.
“I’ll keep engaging with council officers, the CIC, Friends of Eastville Park and residents, as its time we got clarity.”
For more details about the lido plan visit www.eastvilleparklido.org.uk.
For details of the Friends’ plans visit eastvillepark.org.uk/friends.