Myth: The lido would cost £5m to reopen

Fact: That’s not a figure justified in any of the council’s own reports, which indicate a worst case scenario cost of c £1.3m, most of which does not need to be spent this year. The £5m includes adding in heating, making the pool 1.5m deep or less throughout, and so on.

Myth: Fixing the lido now would be a waste of money / use up money that would be better spent on the long term

Fact: The lido could be fixed affordably for a small proportion of the £880k that has already been set aside for it. The work involved (such as relaying paving stones, handrails, and improving the area around the base of the diving board) would not need to be redone for 5-15 years. Other works such as increasing the grassy areas, heating, and a fancier cafe, could be added as budgets permit / as the community wishes, over the coming years.

Myth: The lido is in a dangerous condition

Fact: In a 500-page report to councillors on the community services and licenscing committee on 19th March 2026, there was no evidence presented that the lido was unsafe to re-open. Previous reports to council in 2024 suggested the works needed to ensure minimum safety standards were basic maintenance totalling around £10k/year, which experts have assessed as completely achievable before the 2026 summer season.

The risk assessment published on 20th March after the meeting, did not reflect any likely risk to life and limb, and contained mainly fairly generic risks that could readily be mitigated, for example, the risk of falling from a wall (which is theoretically possible just about anywhere) could be mitigated by a couple of well placed hand-rails for minimal cost.

The council has not reported on any significant health and safety issues/incidents at the pool. There is a sensitivity about a recent entirely unrelated tragedy on council owned land elsewhere in the district. 

Myth: There could be a sudden leak

Fact: None of the council reports suggest anything like this possibility. Any leak would be slow not sudden, and there is no indication via water monitoring of any significant issues despite superficial rusing to pipes. Monitoring could mitigate, and if issues do arise (as they have in the past) the season could end early.

Myth: The lido is unloved and underused

Fact: The lido has been talked down by the council for years, but their restricted opening hours and difficult booking system are what has made it difficult for people to use. Since COVID the lido has been open afternoons only, even in the height of summer (except for 2 mornings a week where it is open for an hour or two of lane swimming). It then opens for an hour or so of lane swimming at lunch, and then until the school holidays, it is also closed all weekday afternoons until 3.30. At weekends the sessions are split, so people are unable to spend all day by the pool as they used to. 

If the council wants to extend the opening hours, it could start by simply opening it in the mornings, and not breaking up the afternoon session, both of which interfere with how people used the lido until recently – to meet friends and sunbathe and enjoy a dip. Simply re-opening the cafe hatch would also encourage people to spend time there.

Myth: The lido is unprofitable

Fact: The lido makes an operating profit, the only reason it appears not to is that the income figures have been incorrectly calculated. All income from membership is allocated to the indoor facilities even though for many leisure centre members (both ordinary members and swimming members) the Lido is a significant part of the reason they pay for membership. It is inexplicable that no money from membership has been allocated to the Lido – even 10% would make it instantly running at an operating profit.

Myth: It’s better to close the pool this year so it can be improved for next year

Fact: The council proposals announced on 12 March 2026 contain no plan to re-open for the following year, merely an invitation to the public to raise money – similar to the skate park, which was closed a few years ago with a similar invitation and nothing happened.

Lido experts point out that once a lido is closed it becomes more financially costly, and more politically difficult, to re-open. Numerous lidos including Bristol have been closed for 30 years before being re-opened as (more exclusive and costly) lidos. A bit like pubs, once lidos are closed, custom that can, goes elsewhere and becomes hard to get back.

Myth: The only way to increase usage is to do something really dramatic like heating, longer hours and fancy extras

Fact: Mornings exist! So the council could try opening it in the mornings. 

Similarly, early evenings – which are enjoyable for families, not just for lane swimmers, but which have not been available to casual swimmers in recent years (since COVID).

Simpler opening hours would be easier to communicate and more in line with how the lido has historically been used, with lane swimming available alongside, not instead of, casual use.

And the council could spend more than £900 marketing the lido (last year’s figure).

It is also the case that old-fashioned turnstiles, often left unstaffed mid-session, make unpaid entry very common so the current figures underestimate actual usage. Members also are able to simply walk in so their use is not always registered (and nor does an of it count towards the lido budget as currently calculated).

Simple and affordable extras like a plug in sauna, mobile cafe or re-opened cafe hatch, even things like re-instating the table football, tables, and book borrowing shelf, could begin to reverse the impression that the council sees the lido merely as a liability to be run down and then closed.

Myth: An app is a convenient and appropriate way of booking to use the lido and youngsters in particular like ‘apps’

Fact: The app to book lido swimming is so clunky that annoyed poetry has been written about it! Many people do not want to have to book in advance for a weather-influenced activity and the booking requirement has reduced numbers considerably. People with caring responsibilities, or just busy and unpredictable lives, want to be able to go for a spontaneous swim and not have to worry about timed ‘sessions’. People who are regular exercisers / members might find the app convenient but the need for active leisure is greatest amongst casual users.

Myth: The only way to run a lido these days is to have lots of swish and exclusive ‘wellness’ offerings

Fact: Stroud isn’t Cheltenham and super-fancy isn’t what Stroud has ever been about. Having said that, a plug in sauna could be hired at very affordable cost and would increase appeal on cooler days even in season, as could a cafe serving hot food.

Myth: The lido is not suitable for young people and needs to be made shallow, and the baby pool replaced with a ‘splash pad’

Fact: Stroud lido has been and remains a rite of passage and a beacon of summer freedom for young people, who love diving in from the central deep area even though the diving boards are no more – this activity would have to stop if it were made the same depth as the indoor pool or even shallower. Parents note that the provision of deep water at the lido is a safe way for children to get used to swimming out of their depth and in cold water, and the baby pool is a way of getting little ones acclimatised to a bigger outdoor pool.

Myth: It’s been difficult to recruit lifeguards

Fact: The council appears to not have even tried advertising!

Myth: The lido needs too many lifeguards so it would be better to cut it in half, down to 25m (recommended ‘option 3’ in the feasibility study)

Fact: The lifeguard requirements are not statutory and need to be considered sensibly. They also are easily reduced by the simple expedient (used in previous years) of roping off a section of the pool in quieter periods.

Myth: The lido is primarily used by middle class people who can easily drive to other pools, or go ‘wild swimming’

Fact: Anyone who uses it can attest to the fact that the lido has always been used by a very diverse cross-section of Stroud. For many it is the only outdoor body of water they will have access to all year. For those without gardens, it is the only enclosed place they have to sunbathe. Other Gloucestershire outdoor pools are small, hard to access on public transport, have expensive parking and/or require considerable advance booking.  ‘Wild swimming’ options are not particular rich near Stroud, some locations are notably risky / detrimental to wildlife, and discouraged, the safety of a properly guarded pool area in which one can go alone to swim and relax is important, especially for women and for younger people.

Myth: People who swim outdoors can just switch to swimming inside

Fact: As well as the unpleasant overcrowding of the indoor pool (see above), many lido users report that they find the outdoor pool superior due to larger size, cooler temperature, deeper waters, ability to sunbathe, less chlorinated, less noisy and intense. Neurodiverse customers in particular have raised these concerns but they are widespread beyond that.

Myth: The lido could be closed with no impact on the business of the indoor leisure centre or the park as a whole

Fact: The lido is an integral part of the offering in Stratford Park as the council’s own usage surveys suggest. During the summer months lido users also frequent the cafe so business there would go down. The indoor pool is already twice as overcrowded as the UK average, often unpleasantly so, with very restricted hours too due to clubs and classes, so closure of the outdoor would have an unpleasant effect.

Myth: All of this came out of the blue to councillors

Fact: Various sub-groups have been meeting and discussing the pool and there are a lot of unanswered questions about who knew what, when. Right now, the focus needs to be on fixing this, doing better, and getting the pool open this summer. There will be questions, though, including legal ones, on how decisions were made. 

Myth: The councillors had no choice but to accept the recommendation on 19th March to close, because the officer said there were health and safety concerns

Fact: The councillors meeting on 19th March (the Communities and Licensing Committee) were not presented with written evidence to back up the claims sprung upon the meeting without notice. This is not an appropriate way to make decisions. The decision cannot be considered valid and it is fortunate that the council is now presenting this as merely the first stage in scrutiny.

Myth: The only solution right now is a community trust and fundraising

Fact: It is not acceptable for the council to simply forget to do repairs and then throw in the towel. Clearly investment is desirable to restore the lido to its former glories. But any future new owner in 2027 or beyond (for example, the Town Council working with a charitable trust) is far more likely to want to take over a facility that has had essential repairs done and is handed over as a going concern, with a summer of goodwill behind it to launch a community effort to secure its future. 

Myth: Stroud District Council doesn’t have much choice, it’s being abolished in a year or so

Fact: Does Stroud District Council want to go out in a splash, or with a whimper?