Wimshurst Pelleriti gets go-ahead for lido revamp after five-year slog

Wimshurst Pelleriti’s design for a revamp of a public lido in south-west London has won planning permission after a five-year battleThe plans for a new £5 million community building at the open-air Hampton Pool on the edge of Bushy Park in Richmond upon Thames were first submitted in 2016 but have only now been given the green light by Richmond Council.The design team decided to look at retention instead of demolition, as the pool had to remain open throughout the works.The final plan involves the refurbishment and extension of the existing building on the site to create 1,305m² of space for events and retail, with enhanced gym facilities.The proposal includes a new Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) canopy, providing space for a new café and indoor viewing area.The new building has also undergone a full energy strategy review with the aim of greatly reducing the site’s energy and water use. The new buildings are designed to incorporate passive heating and cooling and maximise the use of solar power.The project took a long time to get through planning as its positioning inside a Royal Park and its status as Metropolitan Open Land meant it required multiple levels of sign-off at both local authority and GLA level.The popular facility on the edge of Bushy Park has a history of slow starts and closure. First proposed in 1907, Hampton Pool was eventually opened in 1922 and closed again in 1982.Thanks to the determination of a local action group, it reopened in 1985 as a heated outdoor pool complex.