A grade II listed gasholder on the Old Kent Road could be turned into a freshwater swimming pool, in what's being described as a "proposal unlike anything else seen in Europe".
The plans — revealed by Southwark Council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and first reported on by Southwark News — would see:
🏊 One semi-circle within the existing Gasholder No. 13 turned into a cold water swimming pond; the other filled with a reed bed filtration system to keep the water fresh.
🏊 The pool would form the centrepiece of a new green space, Livesey Park, named after the engineer George Livesey, who built the gasholder. A café, shop and changing rooms would also feature.
🏊 Development of the pool could begin in 2027 or 2028, although Southwark Council stresses these are early days, and nothing is concrete as yet.
🏊 The plans are infinitely more sensible than one mooted back in 2020, which suggested turning the gasholder into an alligator park.
London is home to dozens of retired gasholders — built en masse in the Victorian age, as a way of storing gas within a movable lid, and thus keeping it at a consistent pressure. Gasholder Park in King's Cross is a small public space, with neighbouring gasholders transformed into apartments. Plans are also afoot to convert a disused gasworks at Bromley-by-Bow into 2,150 homes.
At least two new outdoor swimming pools are slated to open in London in 2026; Sea Lanes Canary Wharf and Valentine's Lido — both in east London.
Meanwhile, Old Kent Road's "proposal unlike anything else seen in Europe" is only true if you're not familiar with Pokémon.
Read more about the Old Kent Road gasholder proposals on Southwark News, and BBC News.
