Countryside charity CPRE thinks Waltham Forest’s lido should be built on the old Larkswood Lido site
A charity devoted to protecting green spaces has urged Waltham Forest Council to move plans for a new public swimming pool from Walthamstow to Chingford.
Last November, Waltham Forest Council revealed that it plans to build a new lido on Low Hall Sports Ground, a stretch of legally protected Metropolitan Open Land in Walthamstow.
The site was chosen from a shortlist of 12 possible options, including one in Larkswood, a Chingford neighbourhood that boasted a huge lido until its closure in the 1980s.
Countryside charity CPRE recently called on the council to consider building the lido on the former site of this old pool, arguing the current plans were a case of “right idea, wrong place”.
In a series of tweets on 30th March, a spokesperson wrote: “We think [the lido] would be better placed at the site of the old Larkswood Lido in Chingford – which is now mostly a large car park.
“Low Hall Sports Ground is well-used and much-needed for sports. The council says it will relocate facilities, but it’s never straightforward ‘lifting’ facilities and moving them. Low Hall is also protected green space, which should not be built on.
“There’s a much better site for the lido: the site of the old Larkswood Lido in Chingford. Closed in 1987, it now hosts Chingford Leisure Centre but most of the site is a large surface car park. Locate the lido here, and there’d be no need to build on Low Hall.
“Car park or lido? Waltham Forest Council is already a leader in delivering sustainable transport and can use this opportunity to do even more by converting a parking lot into a space for swimming and leisure.
“Using this site would fit with the council’s vision for the lido to be part of a larger, multi-use community sport and leisure destination – since it is adjacent to the Larkswood Playing Fields and the Chingford Leisure Centre.”
The Larkswood site originally considered by the council was Larkswood Playing Fields, adjacent to the old lido site, as the council hopes to see new housing built on the leisure centre car park. The Chingford Leisure Centre already offers indoor swimming facilities.
Responding to CPRE’s statements, the council’s co-deputy leader Ahsan Khan told the Echo: “Several locations across the borough were considered for the new lido, including the Larkswood site.
“As there are already three swimming pools near to the site and it is currently held on a long lease by a third party with around 180 years remaining, which would have significant time and cost implications, the Larkswood site was not taken forward.
“Should the project progress, money will be invested in improving sports facilities at Low Hall. We are already in discussions with sports groups and community organisations who use Low Hall to see how they would like to see the existing facilities enhanced.
“The new lido and accompanying improvements to leisure and sports provision have the potential to bring significant environmental and social benefits to residents.”
CPRE was contacted for further comment and had not responded at the time of publication.
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