News / Eastville Park
New lido could be built in Eastville Park
As more and more people hope to cold water swim in Bristol, there remains few safe spaces in the city to go for an outdoor dip.
But that could change thanks to a group of local residents keen to see improvements to Eastville Park.
The park already has a former swimming pool but ambitious plans are for a disused bowling green to be the site of a new lido.
is needed now More than ever
A second survey is now open hoping to further understand what additional facilities would improve people’s experience of the park.
A gathering for all those people interested in an open air swimming pool is also taking place in the park from 5.45pm to 7pm on July 20.
Eastville Park’s old swimming baths were bombed in the war and never reinstated – photo: Martin Booth
“Eastville Park has been quite neglected over the years in comparison to other parks in the city,” said Eastville resident Shankari Raj, an architect who is one of the campaigners looking to improve facilities in the area.
“It was a people’s park, it was delivered for the city as a green space for the people away from pollution.
“And during Covid that’s exactly what has happened again; Eastville Park is more popular than it’s ever been but it’s lacking facilities.”
Listen to more from Shankari Raj on the Bristol24/7 Behind the Headlines podcast:
Raj said that there is a “real appetite” for bringing back the swimming pool, but work undertaken over the last two years has shown that putting in a new lido on the old bowling green site is only slightly more expensive than refurbishing the old pool, and could be bigger and used by more people.
“There’s nowhere in Bristol where people can drop in and swim outdoors for £5,” says Raj.
“Whereas other places around the country are bringing back and reviving their lidos.”
At the event on July 20, local councillors and representatives from Bristol City Council’s Parks department will be joined by the couple that help run Bathurst Pool, an open air swimming pool in Lydney in Gloucestershire which is run mainly by volunteers.
Bathurst Pool in the Forest of Dean has been run by the community since 2000 – photo: Friends of Bathurst Pool
Main photo: Martin Booth
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