Brighton’s open-water pool dream has moved one step closer to reality as Sea Lanes Brighton has unveiled new artist’s impressions of its revised plans ahead of the planned opening of the seafront pool on the Madeira Drive site next year.
The uncertainty surrounding the redevelopment of Madeira Terraces led Sea Lanes Brighton – the firm seeking to redevelop the Madeira Drive site into a national open-water centre – to renegotiate a shorter five-year lease last year. It has scaled down its ambitious plans for the former Peter Pan playground, by Yellowave and Concorde 2, in the short term, at least.
This means that, initially, they will build a temporary 25-metre pool, rather than the originally intended 50-metre permanent one, but Sea Lanes Brighton says that its long-term plans remain to “deliver a 50-metre swimming pool that becomes recognised as a national open-water swimming centre”.
The 25C-heated pool will be accessible to everyone, boosting Brighton’s (currently limited) public swimming options, and acting as a stepping stone for those who want to gain confidence before hitting the sea, as well as a training venue for open-water events and courses.
The swimming pool will feature a boardwalk to the sea and be supported by 39 small business units suitable for retail, health and fitness, office space, as well as a food court with street food kiosks and seating area. The plans also include a new purpose-built headquarters for local business, SwimTrek, who organise adventure swimming holidays.
“It will be a real hub for the local community. We want to attract those elite-level athletes, but we also want to get people swimming who might not have been swimming for years. We think that, with this centre, we can achieve that,” said Simon Murie, managing director of Swim Trek (the company driving the project).
Sea Lanes Brighton are hosting a pop-up later this month where you’ll be able to view the plans, take part in swim coaching sessions in a counter-current endless pool, enjoy a pop-up sauna from Beach Box (known as Warmth Brighton during the Fringe, visit them on their last day today at their i360 site – 11.00am to 4.00pm), and take part in fun events, such as silent disco yoga. As soon as we have the date, you’ll be the first to know!
The design of the wider site is typically Brighton, featuring a vibrant colour palette that takes inspiration from the city’s lifeguards’ strip, the Prince Regent, the sea and the Brighton Blue of Madeira Terrace itself. The design will “help revitalise the present and shape the future of Madeira Drive,” said Rich Brett, creative director of We Like Today, who came up with the proposal design.
Providing the company manages to secure planning permission later this year, we could be swimming in the new pool next Spring. Watch this space!
You can hear more about the proposed development here. As well as SwimTrek, the Sea Lanes Brighton company includes members of the Brighton Sea Swimming Club, Copsemill Properties and QED Sustainable Urban Developments.
Photo credits: Sea Lane Brighton Limited
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