Electricity row halts Saltdean Lido restoration

Rebecca Crook said the CIC believed the council had a moral obligation to lend it the £70,000

Restoration of a Grade II* listed lido has been put on hold in a row over who will fund an electricity sub-station to power the pool.

Saltdean Lido Community Interest Company (CIC) wants Brighton and Hove City Council to lend it £70,000 to install the sub-station.

It says it cannot allow contractors on to the site next week if it does not have the money

The council said it had offered a top-up loan of £10,000.

'Devastating'

The CIC has raised £8m to restore the Lido, which includes more than £4.7m from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Chair Rebecca Crook said that if it had to raise another £70,000 the project would be delayed and the 1930s art deco structure would deteriorate further.

"Until the £70,000 is found to fund the sub-station this remains a building site and doesn't open next summer, so its devastating to the residents and tourists to the city," she said.

"The council aren't necessarily obligated to help us but I think, morally, the tender documents that we read implied that there is power to the site and it has always operated as a swimming pool."

The council's bid information pack states the site has a sub-station. It is unclear when it was removed or by whom.

It was hoped Saltdean Lido would reopen next summer but the CIC says work has been halted

The CIC halted the project following a meeting with council officials on Friday.

The authority said in a statement: "We have been working in the spirit of partnership with the Saltdean Lido CIC to help progress the work.

"We offered a top-up loan of £10,000 following a meeting with the CIC and ward councillors.

"We don't believe there is any need to loan any more funds.

"We have to be particularly careful about funding as we face a further £68m of government cuts over the next four years."