Plans for a 25-metre swimming pool have been recommended for approval as they go before councillors next week.
If approved, Brighton and Hove City Council plans to build a £7 million five-lane pool at the Withdean Sports Complex, in Tongdean Lane, Brighton.
The council proposes extending the north end of the sports centre for the pool along with a new reception area, changing rooms and an overflow car park.
Changes to the car park are expected to mean 12 fewer parking spaces, according to a report to the council’s Planning Committee. The existing upper car park has 110 spaces, with 199 in the lower car park.
The pool building would have a metal pitched roof, with solar panels on it, and wall cladding on a brick plinth.
The proposed opening hours are from 6am to 11pm Monday to Friday and from 7am to 8pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Eight people have objected to the plans and three letters of support have been sent to the council.
Objectors were concerned about the operating hours, light pollution and the loss of a chalk bank – and the questioned the need for the pool.
One anonymous objector, whose details were redacted by the council, said: “What do the council think they are doing? Wrecking a beautiful rural area for a car park and putting it at the bottom of residents’ gardens.
“How would anyone like to have a car park at the bottom of their garden? This area is, or was, a beautiful, quiet, rural area, away from the hustle and bustle of life and suddenly it is being bulldozed and torn apart.”
Another anonymous objector, whose details were also redacted by the council, said: “The western extent of the proposed site, destined for the overflow car park, is home to badgers, foxes, many invertebrates like rare butterflies, bees, beetles, grasshoppers, hover flies and dragonflies, etc.
“Slow worms, adders, voles, shrews, dormice and hedgehogs also inhabit it. What a loss if tarmacked over.
“The western extent of the proposed site hosts an abundance of commuting and foraging bats and this development would severely undermine their habitat, particularly during construction. The proposed measures to protect this protected species are derisory.”
The county ecologist said that the work would take place on the north of the site, furthest from the Withdean and Westdene Woods Local Nature Reserve and ancient semi-natural woodland.
The ecologist said that eight trees and some scrub at the end of the overflow car park did not have bat-roosting potential.
Supporters welcomed the boost to existing facilities, creating a hub for sport which would be accessible to people living in the north of Brighton and Hove.
An anonymous supporter, whose details were also redacted by the council, said: “As a regular local user of the Withdean leisure centre, I strongly support this application as the provision of a community pool is not only much needed but will greatly enhance the existing facilities.
“The pool will also promote and encourage healthier lifestyles and, being sited in Withdean, will be much more accessible to residents in the north of the city.”
Another anonymous supporter said: “I and my family cannot wait for this to be built. We are delighted in this investment in public health. It’s wonderful to have such a well-used community asset.
“Parking is always an issue. It’s a sports centre. I think only the severely disabled would have an excuse not to use bus, train or bicycle to get there and of course that should be accommodated.”
The proposal follows the approval of the council’s Sports Facilities Investment Plan in 2021. It said that there was a need for more council-owned pools in Brighton and Hove.
The three main public pools, the Prince Regent, in the North Laine, St Luke’s, in Brighton, and the King Alfred, in Hove, are all more than 30 years old.
In July, the council’s cabinet gave its backing to the project after a public consultation and agreed to borrow £6.5 million to be repaid from entry fees.
A further £350,000 would come from “developer contributions” – money towards local infrastructure paid by developers as a condition of their planning permission.
The report to the council’s cabinet in July said that the pool was expected to bring in revenues of £568,000 a year and – after annual repayments of £339,000 – generate a surplus of £229,000.
The council’s Planning Committee is due to meet at Hove Town Hall at 2pm on Wednesday 3 December. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast.
Remember those projections that accompanied the i360 application……?
Spend the money on existing facilities and people can travel by public transport to access swimming pools. This is just another white elephant that damages the environment, increases debt, reduces parking provision and seeks to serve a minority that can afford the fees. Where is the provision for areas to the north of the city like Moulsecoomb, Portslade and Coldean where there are more families?
This project is expected to generate a surplus after covering the debt repayments, so seems to be fiscally responsible. And reducing parking by 12 spaces out of 309 hardly seems significant.
“How would anyone like to have a car park at the bottom of their garden? This area is, or was, a beautiful, quiet, rural area, away from the hustle and bustle of life”
This public land is being put to better use for the wider public. Have the residents paid for the enjoyment of the nice view from their gardens up to now?
Agree with above reader – spend the money on the existing 3 pools which are all severely run down. Lots of public transport to them all.
Surplus? You mean turnover. Lets take 1 minute searching online. Looks like it will have to either fall into disrepair, be volunteer run or be subsidised to generate a substantive surplus.
Average operating costs for UK public swimming pool…
Google says:
The average operating cost for a UK public swimming pool is highly variable, but major costs are energy (heating, ventilation, and lighting) and chemicals. While specific figures are difficult to pinpoint, estimates for a single pool’s annual running costs (excluding staff) can range from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of pounds due to fluctuating energy prices, with one operator reporting a jump in utility costs from £8m to £24m in just a few years. Factors that significantly influence costs include pool size, insulation, heating system, and usage levels.
Average staffing costs of uk public swimming pool…
Google says:
Staffing costs for public swimming pools in the UK typically account for approximately 60% of total expenditure, often exceeding the income generated by the pool itself. Specific total figures vary widely based on the facility’s size, services offered, and location.
Major costs that will be mostly covered by the…checks notes….solar panels being installed on the roof?
What is it with B&H residents being totally against any change?? This pool is needed amd will be popular. Get over it.