The popular paddling pool on Brighton seafront will reopen at the start of next month, Brighton and Hove City Council said last night.
Less than three months ago, the council said that the paddling pool needed “significant repairs and modernisation” and would have to stay closed while work took place on the A259 seafront road.
The decision had been made as the council faced “a challenging financial climate”, adding that other paddling pools would be open.
But yesterday (Friday 20 June), the council said: “Families will soon be able to enjoy making a splash at the King’s Road paddling pool after Brighton and Hove City Council repaired it in time for the summer holidays.
“The popular seafront pool, which is just a stone’s throw from the West Pier and sits alongside the neighbouring King’s Road playground, had looked likely to remain closed throughout the school holidays.
“This was because urgent repairs were needed to make it safe and planned work on the nearby A259 arches would have heavily impacted the site.
“However, aware of how well used the pool is by local families and with the A259 arches work now planned for later in the year to minimise disruption during the busy summer period, councillors green-lit the repairs necessary to open the pool for the summer season.
“The pool is approaching the end of its usable lifespan and will need further work once the A259 arches project is completed.
“But councillors wanted to ensure families still had access to the free facility over the summer months – particularly the school holidays when it has historically been at its busiest.
“The repair work is complete and the pool has been refilled.
“The pool will reopen on Tuesday 1 July, once Freedom Leisure staff have had time to make sure chlorine levels have the reached the recommended balance and the water is safe to play in.”
The pool was closed twice last summer, in June and August, because the “rubber crumb” surface was damaged – and in 2023 it was shut for a deep clean after a dead seagull was found in the shallow water.
Councillor Alan Robins, the council’s cabinet member for sports, recreation and libraries, recently visited the site to check on its progress alongside Councillor Trevor Muten, the council’s cabinet member for transport and city infrastructure.
Councillor Robins said: “We know how popular this paddling pool is and how important it is for families.
“Our paddling pools are a fantastic resource and provide somewhere free where families can spend the day, make lifelong memories and, hopefully, enjoy the good weather this summer.”
Councillor Muten said: “I’m delighted that, working alongside our contractor Freedom Leisure, we have been able to repair the pool.
“Long term, we will consult with residents about exactly what they would like on the site once the A259 arches work is complete.
“But for now, I’m just pleased families will be able to enjoy visiting the site again.”
Other paddling pools can be found in Saunders Park and Hove Lagoon while there is a water feature at The Level. All are all currently open to enjoy, the council added.
Paddling pools till the water runs out.
It seems then that after councillors insisted in April that “we can’t carry out the repairs needed now only for it to need to be re-done after the A259” (according to Cllr Alan Robins then) it turns out they can actually do just that, and they are no longer worried about possible duplication of repair costs.
Shame the councillors didn’t see sense in February when they snuck the closure this summer into their budget papers. It should have been obvious that the closure over summer months would impact on families.
The inspections & works should have been done in the off-season. Opening the paddling pool on 1 July is welcomed, but a third of the summer season will have elapsed. Regrettably another sign that families & tourism are not as high up the administrations agenda as they should be – or is it incompetence?
Notice you’ve been in the echo chambers of Facebook and Argus for a while, Cllr Lyons. Happy birthday for a few weeks ago.
I see age hasn’t slowed down your angry man yells at clouds routine. It is disingenuous present this as a sign of incompetence or neglect. As a sitting councillor, you know full well that council repair schedules are tied to financial year cycles and contractor availability.
You talk about prioritising families and tourists; but the delays in paddling pool works have been a recurring issue. If you truly wanted an off-season fix, why haven’t you done anything about it yourself, councillor.
Some advice? Maybe you should try cooperation once in a while, might find you end up being much more effective as an elected official.
Ha!
You said ‘disingenuous’. Bingo!
Are you powered by AI? Trotting out the useful banal patronising dribble
I did say disingenuous. Well done, Jane.
Jane if something is useful it can’t also be banal, patronising or drivel (not dribble).
So make your mind up please.
Change it in winter not rocket science. Plus recycled rubber tyres etc is highly toxic. Old school tiles are safe. The old pool was so much better, places for parents to sit and enjoy all day.
Plus fix Peter Pan too. Children should be the top priority for the council, instead of last on this list.
But these paddling pool closures seem to be multiple times a year, generally during the hottest times, meaning the pools aer closed more than they are open incurring significant costs as well as pool loss for children.
It’s time to admit defeat and rebuild them with proper pool tiles surely?
They was clearly built by cowboys who put funky over functional.
Look at Worthing. They know how to do seafront paddling pools properly.
Some of the previous closures have been down to the actions of others including people throwing bottles and glass into the pool or kiddies doing their business in the water.
I even recall them finding a dead seagull in the water.
All of which require the pool to be closed for safety reasons. The former to remove the glass and the latter two to clean the pool and sterilise the water.
Or would you rather the pool was just kept open and those issues ignored?