GLL

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 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).