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LIDOS


Faversham Lido is almost alone among remaining lidos in having diving boards, which add enormously to its appeal


CLOSING BUDE SEA POOL FOR ‘SAFETY’ REASONS WOULD FORCE SEA SWIMMERS INTO THE TREACHEROUS CORNISH SURF


The greatest impact of these guidelines, though, is arguably financial: recommendations for minimum lifeguard numbers mean that staffing a pool can oſten approach 50 per cent of a lido’s overall costs. At Bude in Cornwall, the effects of this have been felt profoundly by supporters atempting to keep the town’s historic sea pool open. Previously the pool was only lifeguarded during peak hours, but


now two to three lifeguards need to be on duty for the six months of the year it is open. At £30,000, the annual cost of lifeguarding is now three times that of maintenance. No swimmer wants to use understaffed or dangerous facilities, but many would question who exactly benefits from situations like these. In some cases, the biggest culprit seems not to be the guidelines but lazy councils, who find them a good excuse to get some tricky issue or unwanted expense off their hands. It’s certainly hard to see how safety at Bude would be enhanced


by the closure of the sea pool – with swimmers then encouraged to venture into the treacherous Cornish surf. At Hilsea, too, the removal of the boards has arguably put the


city’s young people in more danger, since ‘tombstoning’ (jumping from high rocks into the sea) is now a popular pursuit. With a depth of 4.6 metres, there is certainly no obvious reason why Hilsea could not have a diving platform – even one of five metres or higher. Outdoor pools at Aldershot and Faversham both have boards – and at both, the management feel they add to the pool’s appeal.


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BUDE SEA POOL The 90-metre tidal pool in the rocks at Bude is an integral part of the town – many residents have memories of learning to swim there. In 2010 the council announced it would withdraw funding for the pool, but aſter outcry from supporters, a team has been given one year to set up a trust to take over its operation. Friends of Bude Sea Pool are currently looking to recruit more volunteers. budeseapool.net


This would surely be even more true for Hilsea – so let’s hope that supporters succeed in their long term plan of restoring the boards. It would be a shame, aſter all, if well-intentioned regulations not only made life more boring but also less healthy and less. ○


Jonathan Knot is a freelance journalist and news editor for the Outdoor Swimming Society. He has writen on lidos for a number of publications, including the Guardian and the London Evening Standard. His local lido is London Fields. As well as swimming, he writes about politics and travel and is the author of the travel guide skiathostruth.com


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