LIDOS LIDO LIFE
Jonathan Knot looks at how Health and Safety rules are aff ecting our lidos
Hilsea Lido was closed in 2008, but has been taken over by the Hilsea Lido Pool for the People Trust, whose aim it is to restore and reopen it
When Hilsea lido in Portsmouth opened in 1935, it was one of the most glamorous in Britain: fountains sparkled under the
summer evening fl oodlights, and the pool hosted outdoor dances and concerts. For it was not just a pool; Hilsea had tennis courts, a put ing green and a miniature railway. But most striking of all was probably the 10-metre diving platform, from which competitors swooped during the national championships. Hilsea remained open until 1998, but the boards were taken down a good 20 years before that – and similar stories can be heard elsewhere. Once common at lidos, diving boards are now a rarity. The unused triple platform at Stroud is a memento to a bygone era. We can’t ignore the role of Health and Safety in creating this situation: guidelines endorse minimum depths needed for diving boards set by swimming’s international body, FINA (a pool depth of over 3 metres is required for 1-metre boards). And this isn’t the only way in which the Health and Safety guidelines have contributed to the comparatively austere image of modern lidos: recommendations regarding water features, for example, mean that most fountains have now been covered or removed.
WITH A DEPTH OF 4.6 METRES, THERE IS CERTAINLY NO OBVIOUS REASON WHY HILSEA COULD NOT HAVE A DIVING PLATFORM
HILSEA LIDO Opened in Portsmouth in 1935, Hilsea Lido’s future looked increasingly less secure as the century progressed, although it was not actually closed until 1998. The ‘Hilsea Pool for the People’ group, who have campaigned for its survival, now have responsibility for the site on a 99-year lease and hope to open the lido this summer.
hilsea-lido.org.uk
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