Behind all that rubble, something is stirring… but what exactly is happening with the redevelopment of Charlton Lido?

Well, the good news is that by all accounts, it’s on course to reopen next month after a number of years out of use. It’s now under the management of GLL, which runs Greenwich Council’s leisure centres and libraries, after an attempt to lease it out to a private consortium collapsed in 2010.

Full completion of the project is planned for 2013, when it’ll include a health and fitness centre and cafe, but for now, outdoor swimming during the Olympic summer will do.

The launch of the fantastic Charlton Parks Reminiscence Project website is a further reminder of what a fantastic local asset the the 73-year-old lido is, despite being neglected over recent decades.

As well as a few photos of the lido in the 1950s, the site also contains these notes about its history, alongside its surviving sister lidos at Brockwell Park, Herne Hill and Parliament Hill on Hampstead Heath. Just as Brockwell Park has been central to the revival of its local area in recent years, hopefully Charlton Lido will give its own neighbourhood a boost – and be the catalyst for further improvements to Hornfair Park.

If you’ve got memories of the lido, feel free to share them here – and what do you want to see at the new-look Charlton Lido when its gates open again?