Yet another big investment in city’s billion-pound beachfront

A £4.5m outdoor swimming centre looks set to become the latest in a string of big-money investments underway or planned on Brighton & Hove seafront totaling over a BILLION pounds.

Councillors are expected to approve granting a project called Sea Lanes a 150-year lease on the site of the former Peter Pan’s Playground. 

Located half a mile east of Brighton Pier, the facility would be promoted as a national centre for open water swimming. It would feature a 50m eight-lane pool, changing rooms, showers, sauna, studios for training, exercise and yoga, therapy rooms, a café/restaurant, leisure-related shops, offices, function room, bike hire and lockers. 

Among backers of the project are Brighton developers Copsemill Properties and SwimTrek the UK’s biggest open water swimming operator who provide holidays, events, races and coaching. Also involved are Swimmergy, an open water swimming coaching business, plus local designers and architects We Like Today.

Officials are recommending councillors back the plan, saying it uses a relatively small portion of a quiet beach to promote an increase in swimming participation.

All the £4.5m investment would come from private sources, not council funds.

Council leader Warren Morgan said: “We probably have more external funding being invested in in our seafront than any other coastal destination – and this is yet another example. We’re keen to grow the number of attractions between the pier and the marina. All of these developments will earn the council money from rents, council tax, business rates and more, meaning more funds for vital front-line services.”

Investments underway, planned or proposed for Brighton & Hove seafront worth over a billion pounds include:  

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