A thousand more sign petition for lido in Winchester

A petition urging Winchester City Council to support the creation of the outdoor swimming pool has garnered more than 1,000 signatures in the last week.

The Chronicle reported on the campaign last week and since then the number of names in support has grown from around 1,000 to 2,220.

It has been launched by the newly-formed Winchester Lido group in response to repeated calls over the years for an outdoor swimming venue.

The city council has this year opened a £40 million sport and leisure centre at Bar End with a 50-metre pool but the Lido campaigners says outdoor swimming offers additional benefits including the positive impact on mental health. Lidos are increasingly popular nationwide with pools in Hampshire at Lymington, Hilsea and Aldershot.

The council is expected to publish its plans for the River Park Leisure Centre and North Walls park this autumn.

Winchester Lido on Worthy Lane in the 1930s. The changing rooms in the background is now the St John headquarters and the pool area is a car park. Picture credit Hampshire Record Archives

The first Winchester Lido on Worthy Lane was opened in the 1930s (see photo above, and below). The changing rooms in the background are now the site of the St John headquarters and the pool area is a car park.

It, along with the other outdoor swimming area at Bull Drove, off Garnier Road in St Cross, closed when the River Park Leisure Centre in Hyde opened in the mid-1970s.

Winchester Lido on Worthy Lane in the 1930s. Photo: Hampshire Record Office

Campaigners say demand for outdoor swimming across the UK has increased by 1.5 to three times, according to estimates from Outdoor Swimmer’s Trends Report in February this year. In 2019, Swim England estimated that 7.5m people in the UK swam outdoors, with women making up more than half those who take to our rivers, lakes and lidos.

'Wild swimming' in the River Itchen is increasingly popular reviving a tradition that was in its peak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries,

Campaign supporter Paul Brodrick told the Chronicle: “Outdoor swimming can be one of the most exhilarating things to do. The coolness of the water can leave you physically and emotionally reinvigorated and with a strong sense of well-being.

“Outdoor swimming the sea, in a lake or at a lido, with friends, family or competitively can be one of the most enjoyable of activities.”

Lucy Taylor, who started the petition, said: “Swimming outside is life affirming. Over the years it has helped me through the high and lows of life. Lido’s create an amazing community and Winchester would be a better place for one.”

She is the founder of Make Work Play which says: “We are on a mission to harness the power of play to create happy, healthy, collaborative teams. Because we believe it’s easier to get the hard work done when you’re having fun.”

The petition runs until the end of this month and will be presented to the council on Wednesday November 3 at a full council meeting.

Anyone wanting to sign the petition or find out more can visit www.winchesterlido.org.

READ MORE HERE: Support grows for new lido in Winchester

Get more Winchester news.

You can also like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date.

If you want online news with fewer ads, unlimited access and reader rewards - plus a chance to support our local journalism - find out more about registering for a digital subscription.

Email news@hampshirechronicle.co.uk with your comments, pictures, letters and news stories. You call us Monday to Wednesday on 01962 860836 at the Winchester office on 5 Upper Brook Street, SO23 8AL.