Saltdean Lido CIC has started a crowdfunding campaign to ‘pool resources’ and trigger the next phase of the mammoth restoration project.
Phase 2 is the renovation of the building. Residents are working with the Heritage Lottery Fund (National Lottery) to secure funding and Brighton & Hove City Council has pledged £700,000.
However, applications to the Heritage Lottery Fund are competitive. That means that the Lido application not only has to be great but better than all the other round two submissions. Matched funding is vital to the project which will cost £6.8 million in total.
The 80 year-old art deco jewel reopened last year following seven years of painstaking work - but the clock is ticking to prove that a sustainable flow of community funding can be established to ensure that the £4.2 million of funding can be released.
The aim is to raise just over £100,000 by 1 June. The money will be used to rebuild the historic café in the main building.
Chair of Saltdean Lido Sally Horrox said: “This is a toe in the water really - to see whether the community will help us release phase two of the funding.
"It’s just a drop in the ocean in monetary terms but crucial to the future of the Lido. Rule changes at the Heritage Lottery Fund could mean that the entire project could be sunk if we don’t show that a sustainable flow of funding has been established.
"Receiving Phase Two of the funding is not a foregone conclusion now – we have to make a competitive pitch and prove that we are worthier recipients than other restoration schemes. The crowd funding initiative is a vital part of this process.”
Nearly 35,000 people visited the historic pool after it reopened last May.
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Learn more about the work to restore Saltdean Lido