charlton lido

SIGN OUR PETITION – ‘GLL: It’s called Charlton Lido because it’s in Charlton!’

Neil Clasper4 Comments

lido petition

UPDATE 30TH SEPTEMBER, 2013:

Our campaign against changing the name of Charlton Lido to ‘Royal Greenwich Lido, Charlton’ continues to show real results. The News Shopper reports that a GLL spokeswoman has suggested that residents write to GLL using the mail address lidoname@gll.org to suggest the name of the revamped facility, and confirmed that GLL’s preferred name is still ‘Charlton Leisure Centre and Lido’

Please consider writing to GLL with your preferred name – and let us know in the comments below what you’ve told them!

UPDATE 27th SEPTEMBER, 2013: Nearly a week in, and our campaign has gained more coverage than we had thought possible – thanks to everyone who’s signed the petition, RT’d our tweets, contacted the local press and councillors, and encouraged us along the way. It’s worth summarising some of the support we have as of today:

  • Clive Efford, MP for Eltham and Shadow Minister for Sport tweeted to praise GLL for rethinking the decision (see below)
  • Over 350 signatories to our petition to date.
  • Local councillors – including Cllrs Hayley Fletcher, Matthew Pennycook, Kevin Bonavia, and John Fahy – have tweeted support and signed the petition
  • The Charlton Society and Charlton Central Residents Association
  • Kidbrooke with Hornfair and Eltham Labour branches; Kidbrooke with Hornfair Conservative Party candidates.

Some press coverage from this week:

Charlton Mercury coverage - September 25 2013
Charlton Mercury coverage – September 25 2013
News Shopper coverage - September 25 2013
News Shopper coverage – September 25 2013

And some highlights from Twitter:

To repeat our message from earlier in the week, though, the decision’s not been finalised yet, so please: sign the petition, pass it on; and let us know what you think of GLL’s new proposal in the comments below Mr Sesnan’s.

UPDATE 24th SEPTEMBER 2013: Mark Sesnan, MD of GLL, has left this comment in our original post about the plans to rename Charlton Lido:

Dear Charlton Champion,

I am pleased to be able to inform your readers that GLL has discussed the naming of the Lido further with the Council and we have agreed that there needs to be more consultation as to what is the best name for the new facility.

GLL’s preference is now ‘Charlton Leisure Centre and Lido’, thus retaining Charlton in the name, but being clear that it is ‘more than’ just a Lido, but we are happy to hear other suggestions, however, as the owners and the people making the millions of pounds of investment and the organisation that actually has responsibility to make it work, GLL will of course make the final call on the name.

We very much appreciate the level of local interest in the Lido and hope that this will be reflected in patronage when we are fully up and running.

As soon as we have the relevant information we will let you know the plans for opening the new facilities in the new year and what date the pools will be back up and running in the Spring. Meantime, the pool will stay open until the end of October half term and a timetable leaflet is available at the Lido or on the web. Kids for £1 will run throughout this period.

Lets all look forward to a Charlton success story (in the Royal Borough of Greenwich – of course!).

Mark

Mark Sesnan
Managing Director
GLL (Greenwich Leisure Limited)

Many thanks to all who have supported our campaign asking GLL and Royal Borough of Greenwich to rethink their lido renaming plans – those who’ve signed the petition, RT’d our Twitter feed, spoken to their councillors, and so on – it’s clearly an issue that’s provoked strong feelings in SE7 and beyond. The decision’s not been finalised yet, though, so please: sign the petition, pass it on; and let us know what you think of GLL’s new proposal in the comments below Mr Sesnan’s.

————————————————————————————-

Let’s tell the Royal Borough of Greenwich and GLL that our lido’s called Charlton Lido

As covered on this site recently, GLL plan to re-name our local lido as “Royal Greenwich Lido, Charlton”. We polled our readers and found over 75% rejected this new name; many commenters raised passionate objections to the idea and the way that GLL have pushed it without any local consultation.
Our new petition asks GLL and our councillors to reconsider: wecallitcharltonlido.co.uk.

Please sign it – and share it with your friends, family, and colleagues. Even if you’re not a lido user you might want to raise an objection to this loss of local identity (and who know what else our royal-obsessed council wants to rebrand next?).

We’ve seen from the success of the campaign to get a pedestrian crossing for Windrush School that this kind of campaign can have an impact – please give up a minute of your time to sign today!

UPDATE 22nd SEPTEMBER 2013

With over 100 signatories in the first 24 hours since launch – and backing from representatives of all the main local political parties – it’s clear that the name change is very unpopular. The petition will be presented to the next full council meeting on October 30th. As well as signing the petition, you can help this campaign by asking a question at the council meeting; more details on how to do this are here.

Some of the comments left by people who’ve already signed:

Petition Comments

Some feedback on Twitter:

‘Year-round’ Charlton Lido to close for winter

Neil Clasper41 Comments

Charlton Lido, 9 August

Lower-than-expected take-up of membership means Charlton Lido will close for the winter on Sunday November 3rd. In an email to Better Swim members, GLL explains that to-date it only has 144 members, where the equivalent scheme for London Fields Lido has 1,200 members. The lack of revenue from this scheme, plus the expectation that the “dryside” facilities will not start making a financial contribution until into 2014, mean they face “a significant financial problem keeping the pool open through the winter“.

Members will have the choice of suspending their membership until the pool reopens, or keeping it running for the other pools run by GLL.

The email lays out some of the costs of running the lido (£200-£500 a day to heat the pool in winter; 1000+ members required to make winter opening viable), and stresses the investment GLL has in making it a success: “We are hopeful that with the whole new complex ‘Royal Greenwich Lido, Charlton’ [sic] up and running next year we will be able to attract the necessary numbers to stay open all year round. GLL will have invested £4m of our money and £1m of Partners money by the time the scheme is finished, so we do need to make it work!”.

(As an aside, if you’ve not had your say on the renaming of the lido yet, you can vote here).

While the lido has clearly been much busier this year than last (thanks, presumably, to the improved weather, plus increased awareness of the pool), it would be interesting to know why take up of the membership has been so low. Are you a member? Have you considered it but decided against? Let us know why in the comments below.

(2nd aside: the lido is now closing at 7pm on weekdays, rather than 8pm as it was through July and August).

No more ‘Charlton Lido’? Tell us what you think

Neil Clasper37 Comments
Charlton Lido - August 2012
Charlton Lido – August 2012

UPDATE 24th SEPTEMBER 2013: Mark Sesnan, MD of GLL, has left this comment in the thread below:

Dear Charlton Champion,

I am pleased to be able to inform your readers that GLL has discussed the naming of the Lido further with the Council and we have agreed that there needs to be more consultation as to what is the best name for the new facility.

GLL’s preference is now ‘Charlton Leisure Centre and Lido’, thus retaining Charlton in the name, but being clear that it is ‘more than’ just a Lido, but we are happy to hear other suggestions, however, as the owners and the people making the millions of pounds of investment and the organisation that actually has responsibility to make it work, GLL will of course make the final call on the name.

We very much appreciate the level of local interest in the Lido and hope that this will be reflected in patronage when we are fully up and running.

As soon as we have the relevant information we will let you know the plans for opening the new facilities in the new year and what date the pools will be back up and running in the Spring. Meantime, the pool will stay open until the end of October half term and a timetable leaflet is available at the Lido or on the web. Kids for £1 will run throughout this period.

Lets all look forward to a Charlton success story (in the Royal Borough of Greenwich – of course!).

Mark

Mark Sesnan
Managing Director
GLL (Greenwich Leisure Limited)

Many thanks to all who have supported our campaign asking GLL and Royal Borough of Greenwich to rethink their lido renaming plans – those who’ve signed the petition, RT’d our Twitter feed, spoken to their councillors, and so on – it’s clearly an issue that’s provoked strong feelings in SE7 and beyond. The decision’s not been finalised yet, though, so please: sign the petition, pass it on; and let us know what you think of GLL’s new proposal in the comments below.

 

UPDATE 21st SEPTEMBER: We’ve launched a petition asking GLL and Royal Borough of Greenwich to rethink the renaming: wecallitcharltonlido.co.uk. Please take a moment to sign it!

This week’s Greenwich Time reports that the council is changing the name of Charlton Lido (or Hornfair Lido) to “Royal Greenwich Lido”.

What do you think?

UPDATE: Twitter user @Juptin reports that ‘Royal Greenwich Lido’ signs have started to appear:

So far this site has had no confirmation from the council as to whether any public consultation has taken place regarding the renaming.

Charlton Lido – late opening for the hot weather

Neil Clasper2 Comments
Charlton Lido - August 2012
Charlton Lido – August 2012

Good news for Charlton lido swimmers as GLL announce extended weekday opening hours from this week. The pool will be open 6.45am to 8pm Monday to Friday, and 9am to 5pm on the weekend. This will be especially welcome for those swimmers whose working hours make it otherwise impossible to use the lido during the week. As London temperatures soar, there’s never been a better time to try Charlton’s outdoor pool.

Last week GLL suggested on Twitter that opening hours would be extended once the refurbishment is completed, but was unable to confirm how late they’d be staying open. If you want to swim in the evenings beyond the summer, let them know. If feedback on this site and Twitter is anything to go by, there’s definitely demand for post-work swimming in SE7.

As ever, we’re keen to hear your thoughts on the lido. Four months since its reopened it’d be interesting to get your feedback- let us know in the comments below!

NB: GLL do vary the opening times, so it’s always best to check the official website before going: http://www.better.org.uk/leisure/charlton-lido

Charlton Lido reopens this week…but in what state?

Neil Clasper21 Comments
Charlton Lido, 14 March 2012
The old lido entrance has been demolished

Good news for local swimmers as Charlton Lido is set to reopen on Thursday this week. While the local press reports suggested that it would be reopening “after a £2m refurbishment“, recent photos suggest “will reopen while building works go on around it through the summer” might be a more accurate summary.

The plans are available to view online now but, in short, the developments will mean the introduction of:

  • indoor changing rooms
  • gym facilities
  • a cafe.

While some regulars will look back fondly on the basic facilities provided previously, anyone familiar with London Fields Lido will know that the addition of the cafe should prove very popular, providing somewhere to socialise and warm up or cool down after a swim. (In the current weather conditions anyone enterprising enough to turn up with a supply of hot chocolate this weekend could prove very popular).

What price a swim in SE7?
Pool users will be pleased to see that prices seem to have been held since last year, but would be justified in wondering why, at £6 for a pay-on-the-door adult swim, they pay a third more than swimmers at London Fields Lido, an identically-sized pool run by the same operator. A Twitter conversation with GLL earlier revealed not a great deal more than ‘prices vary from borough’ because of differing arrangements with ‘local partners’, ‘the majority of whom are local authorities’. This is presumably a reflection of the amount of subsidy that councils provide to the operator, but we’d greatly appreciate any insight into how this arrangement works in the comments box below (particularly if you’re a local councillor!). It’s also interesting to note that when I visited London Fields Lido on a chilly January morning, it was busier than I’ve seen Charlton Lido, save for the very brief heatwave in August last year.

Overall, though, it’s great to see the return of one of London’s few heated outdoor pools; if you go this weekend, tell us what it was like (and remember to wrap up warm when you get out of the pool).

Open houses and a closing lido

Neil Clasper2 Comments


This weekend is Open House weekend across London (but not Croydon); Greenwich.co.uk has taken a look at what’s open across the Borough, but on a more hyperlocal level the nearest attractions included in the Open House programme are:
– tours of Charlton House on Sunday, 10am-4pm
– Thames Barrier (though it’s a bit unclear what’s different from a normal weekend there, apart from the ‘special display’; if you can work it out, let us know in the comments below).
So, slightly slim-pickings for SE7; but where else would you like to see involved in Open House in our neighbourhood?

Also, there’s only two more weekends of swimming at Charlton Lido before it closes for further refurbishment. It’s worth noting that as of this week they’re running a reduced programme: closed Tuesdays and Thursdays, and shortened evening hours on other days. The full timetable is here: http://www.better.org.uk/leisure/charlton-lido/. The second phase of redevelopment should see the addition of gym facilities, a new cafe, and indoor changing rooms, and is schedule to be ready for Easter 2012.

The re-opened lido seems to have been a great success to date, witth queues out of the door on sunny days. Have you been using the lido? If so, let us know where you plan to swim once it closes.

Charlton Lido reopens at 9.30am today

Darryl Chamberlain33 Comments


The lights were burning into the night yesterday as Charlton Lido prepared for its reopening. After two years of closure, the lido will be back open for business at 9.30am today for the summer, ahead of further work on refurbishing the pool which will begin in the autumn.

Two gripes – inconveniently, GLL has made it cheaper to buy tickets in advance online rather than just turning up with cash, a slightly strange way of operating a community facility surrounded by thousands of potential visitors in walking distance.

The opening hours seem a little restrictive, too – no chance of a pre-work dip, as the pool will open at 9.30am on weekdays and 8.30am at weekends. If GLL wants to establish Charlton Lido alongside the likes of the pool at Brockwell Park, it’s going to have to open earlier than that.

But at least the pool is back. If you get a chance to visit, please let us know how the water was for you.