Help us to bring open air swimming back to Abergavenny!
The Abergavenny Lido Group
We have just one simple aim: to bring a heated open air pool back to Bailey Park in Abergavenny so that a healthy lifestyle can be enjoyed by everyone, all year round.
Our fundraising efforts have restarted and our fundraising plans are well under way.
Our most recent meeting on the site of the old pool at Bailey Park itself saw many new faces and loads of enthusiasm.
We are an entirely voluntary group, and welcome new committee members with any skills they may have to help raise awareness and move the project forward.
In particular, if you have experience in fundraising, marketing, finance, planning and project management, we would love to hear from you. We want to keep the momentum going as there is lots to do.
Please use the contact form below or email info@abergavennylidogroup.co.uk
The vision
We are looking at the way similar facilities operate around the UK. We have ideas about what we would like to include in a new outdoor pool facility, and have consulted with members of the public, to see what sorts of things they would like at this stage.
We need to consider all of our options and want to bring back a facility that will provide alternative and complementary choices to those that already exist in the area.
We want to build an outdoor swimming facility open all year round that will be unique to the area, well used, and will enhance people's experiences of swimming, especially during the summer months.
Rebuilding an outdoor pool facility in Bailey Park would enhance the area and would not act in direct conflict with the indoor facility attached to King Henry VIII School. Indoor and outdoor facilities can work together to bring more leisure activities to Abergavenny.
A viable quality restaurant/café could operate throughout the day and through the seasons. This would increase footfall to the park, which in turn could encourage other groups to use the park facility regularly.
An Olympic training sized pool for this and future generations
Abergavenny Lido Group feasibility study gets the go ahead!
The Abergavenny Lido feasibility study can now begin following a successful application to The Vale of Usk Local Action Group. The funding is under the LEADER measure of the Rural Development Programme 2014 – 2020 and a generous donation of £20,000 means we have now exceeded our target, allowing us to begin the study immediately.
This is fantastic news for the Group, as coupled with other donations from local companies and charities the dream of reopening the Lido in Bailey Park gets one step nearer.
Delighted members of the Abergavenny Lido Group Committee celebrate the successful funding from the Vale of Usk RDP Leader Funding, on the site of the original lido in Abergavenny’s Bailey Park.
Proof of concept
With the scale and potential expense of such a project, it has always been essential to prove the concept works and will be viable. The feasibility study will look at all aspects of the planning applications and surveying, construction quotations, likely running costs and sustainability of the pool and its associated income generation.
The study is expected to be completed by early summer 2022 and will also help us secure future funding from potential investors and contributors to enable the build to go ahead.
If you'd like to make a donation, however small, just visit our LocalGiving page using the link below.
We are already well advanced in making applications for grants and specialist funding, but every little helps!
This project has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.
Cyllidwyd y prosiect hwn drwy Cymunedau Gwledig Llywodraeth Cymru - Rhaglen Datblygu Gwledig Cymru 2014-2020, a ariennir gan Lywodraeth Cymru a’r Gronfa Amaethyddol Ewrop ar gyfer Datblygu Gwledig.
A new pool in Abergavenny will provide extra training areas for Olympic and National swimming hopes, as well as being a centre for fitness and fun in the heart of the town.
Please use the contact form below or email info@abergavennylidogroup.co.uk
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A little bit of background
Currently there is a resurgence in outdoor swimming, and as a result outdoor pools across the UK have been unable to cope with demand. There are so few outdoor pools, to cater for so many, that most facilities are full to capacity and are operating on a one-in, one-out basis at peak times.
Throughout the UK there are campaigns to reinstate lost and disused lidos. Wales falls very short, with only Lido-Ponty returning to use, a couple of years ago.
With the increasing demand for people to swim, bathe and de-stress in outdoor facilities all over the UK, a new Abergavenny facility would help to tap into this increasing potential revenue stream. This would attract elite athletes, competitions and events, add further attractions for tourists, local people and the wider community and those with interests in other things such as the Abergavenny food and cycling festivals.
The Abergavenny Lido Group envisages a new facility, open daily, throughout the year, providing different types of swimming and water based activities, which could change seasonally.
The facility would be multi-functional, able to accommodate and host other activities as well. With a proposed 25m pool and learner pools, it would attract and host competitions and events.
The Abergavenny Lido Group has run a petition which has collected several thousand signatures online and face-to-face.
There is clearly a demand for such a facility. Help us make the dream become a reality!
Want to help? Want to stay informed? Have a skill to offer? Fill in the form above – we'd love to hear from you!
Thank you to our sponsors!
Huge thanks to the following companies who have generously contributed to the Abergavenny Lido Group appeal: