St Luke’s Swimming Pool – operated by Freedom Leisure in partnership with Brighton & Hove City Council – is now open again and there's a special celebration this coming weekend.
The facility closed in December 2013 due to storm damage and has since benefited from significant investment work to restore the facility to its former Victorian glory.
See it in a video here
To celebrate the re-opening, Freedom Leisure has laid on a jam-packed weekend of activities for the whole family to enjoy.
On Friday November 7 there will be a disco swim session from 18:00-19:00 with music. All ages are welcome but children aged eight or under must be accompanied in the water by an adult aged 16 or over. Entrance costs £3.50 per person.
Freedom Leisure is also inviting families to swim for just 10p on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th November from 09:00-18:00 to reflect the kind of prices likely to have been charged when the building opened in 1903.
Brighton & Hove City Councillors will be in attendance on Saturday 8th and local residents are being invited to come along and enjoy homemade cakes, treats, tea and coffee as well.
“We’re looking forward to showcasing the upgraded facility to the Brighton and Hove community,” says Freedom Leisure Centre Manager Jon Hodgson. “St Luke’s is a much-loved venue with some beautiful, original features and the renovation will ensure the facility can remain open for many years to come. There will be Victorian inspired décor throughout the facility during the first week of reopening and we hope customers will embrace the theme by coming along in fancy dress!”
Following last year’s storm damage to the polycarbonate roof and subsequent closure of St Luke’s Pool, Brighton & Hove City Council decided to turn tragedy into triumph by seizing the opportunity to re-glaze the entire roof and remove the suspended ceiling that was above the pool and blocking the view. A total of £190k council funding was allocated to the project.
Now this stunning Grade II Listed building’s architecture, which includes a vaulted glass ceiling - and the sky - can be admired while doing laps of the pool. The self-cleaning glass selected for the roof not only enhances the building’s beauty, it has also improved the building’s efficiency by minimising heat loss in winter and reducing solar gain in summer.
Geoffrey Bowden, Brighton & Hove City Council’s chair of Economic Development & Culture, said: “St Luke’s is Brighton's oldest working swimming pool so it’s great to see this wonderful grade 2 listed building get a new lease of life. I know many residents have enjoyed the facility over the years and council funding to enable the works now means many more will have the pleasure of the pool for years to come.”
For more information, visit www.freedom-leisure.co.uk.