Worthing Lido: the plan to save the seafront icon

Worthing's seafront has always been defined by its landmarks, and few are as recognisable as the Worthing Lido. The cream-coloured, disc-shaped building, Grade II-listed since 1985, sits out over the water on metal stilts, and for years it has been more of a fixture to look at than a place to actually use. Now, a multi-million pound push is underway to save it, and the latest update gives a clearer picture of what that actually means for the building and the beach.

The first thing to understand is the state of the place. The lido is described as very run down, marked by graffiti, and it sits perilously close to falling into the sea as climate change and rising sea levels take their toll. That is the real driver here: the building is literally at risk of being lost to the water. A ground survey has brought some good news, though, showing that the chalk bed beneath the lido could support the new, deeper foundations needed to withstand higher sea levels and stronger tides. That is the starting point for everything that follows.

Money is the next piece of the puzzle. Worthing Council has allocated around £1 million from the Community Infrastructure Levy towards the regeneration, with the immediate focus on the substructure. Securing those foundations is the expensive part, estimated at least £4.5 million, and that figure could have climbed since. The work involves repairing or replacing the existing foundations or filling the void between the substructure and the beach with a mix of sand, stones and blocks. Because of the cost, the council is looking for more external funding, including options with The National Lottery Heritage Fund, and cannot yet commit to a full timeline. The priority is to protect the site and secure the money first.

As for what actually happens inside, the vision is set out in the Worthing Seafront Investment Plan, released in 2022. It imagines reinstating the swimming pool and turning the lido into a year-round attraction, protected from the seafront, with the building's facade and exterior opened up to create a seamless experience between the pool and the seaside. That is part of the wider Fair, Green & Local: Strategy & Delivery Plan 2025-2028 from Adur and Worthing Councils, and two local MPs, Dr Beccy Cooper and Tom Rutland, are working with experts to investigate options for the council-owned structure and chase the several million pounds needed. Reopening the pool is not ruled out, but it sits behind the structural and financial challenges that have to be solved first.

It is worth remembering what is at stake. The site has been part of the seafront since 1897, when a birdcage bandstand went up, followed by a shelter in 1907 and a bandstand enclosure in 1925. It became a small, unheated swimming pool in 1957 and ran until the 1980s, and in 1988 and 1989 it briefly housed dolphins from the Brighton Sealife Centre while their permanent home was being rebuilt. The pool was covered in 1989, and the building became an entertainment centre with a cafe, arcade and event space. The main tenant running the children's attractions and arcade has now ended its tenancy, with the site expected to be fully vacated by 31 October 2026, though the independent businesses, including the cafe, carry on. A petition for its restoration, started by resident Elaine Deed, gathered more than 1,500 signatures, and the council has called the lido a treasured asset. Whether it ever holds water again remains to be seen, but the work to keep it standing is well underway.