Tooting Bec Lido will reopen next week ahead of its £3m refurbishment

Swimmers can enjoy a dip in its welcoming waters earlier than usual this Spring with the venue opening its doors on April 1.

The much-loved open-air pool normally remains open only to members of the South London Swimming Club during the colder winter months between October 1st and April 30th.

But this year it is re-opening to all visitors a month earlier to give people more time to enjoy a healthy and bracing outdoor swim.

The change will give local people more time to visit the lido and enjoy its facilities ahead of its £3m council-funded revamp later in the year.

Members of the South London Swimming Club on what the lido means to them

The money will be used to replace both pump houses with a single building incorporating a modern UV filtration system with new pipework, pool liner and electrical substation.

This investment will mean the pool’s important infrastructure is safeguarded for the next 50 years.

The lido, which dates back to 1906, is the largest open-air freshwater pool in the UK. It occupies a unique position in the history of British lidos due to its size and the era in which it was constructed. It is regularly described as the “jewel in the crown” of Wandsworth’s sports, leisure and fitness facilities.

Over many years a series of remedial works have been carried out by the council to keep the lido open, clean and safe for swimmers.

This has included the underpinning of the foundations to the two pump houses as a result of structural movement in 2000; the replacement of the pool liner in 2007; the addition of a new pavilion in 2017; and further underpinning work to the south pump house in 2019.

Every year more than 100,000 people visit the lido. The South London Swimming Club, which is based at the pool and is a well-established supporter and partner in the lido’s day to day management, continues to grow in popularity, rising from 1,549 members in 2018 to 2,717 members in 2021. The majority of members are aged between 40 years and 60 years of age with a female to male membership ratio of 59 per cent to 41.

The council’s community services spokesman Cllr Steffi Sutters said: “The period between October and the end of April is normally the preserve of our partners in the South London Swimming Club who play such a pivotal role in supporting and preserving the lido, and I’m grateful to them and also to our leisure management contractor Places Leisure for agreeing this change to its opening times which will allow people to enjoy the benefits of the lido sooner and for longer.

“We are of course on the brink of an exciting new phase in the lido’s long and illustrious history with the improvements soon to be delivered securing its future for at least another half century. This means the lido will be enjoyed not only by our children but by our grandchildren and great grandchildren.”

For more information about the swimming club please visit its website. To book a swim at the lido, visit the Places Leisure website.