A car park on Ramsgate’s seafront could be transformed into a lido if a new proposal is approved.
Heritage Lab Ramsgate, a non-profit arts organisation, is in early discussions with a developer who has expressed interest in creating an outdoor swimming pool complex on the site.
The organisation believes the pool could re-establish Ramsgate as a distinctive coastal destination, buoyed by a growing interest in outdoor swimming and wellness travel.
The Kent town was among the most popular seaside destinations for Victorian bathers and continued to attract visitors until the mid-twentieth century.
An Olympic-sized bathing pool was built on the seafront in the 1930s, which was considered one of the largest in the country at the time.
By the 1970s, however, the advent of cheap flights abroad resulted in a sharp decline in visitors to Ramsgate. The pool was closed in 1975.
A spokesperson for Heritage Lab Ramsgate told The Independent that if the pool was combined with saunas, cafés and social spaces, it could become “something more than a place to swim: it can be a year-round destination that locals and visitors return to again and again”.
“The former Marina Bathing Pool site offers a rare opportunity to reinstate a high-quality outdoor swimming facility in a location that has been associated with leisure and seaside holidays since the mid-1930s.”
To help people visualise the possible project, Heritage Lab Ramsgate shared a short video of what the pool could look like. They said that analysis of the responses was around 94 per cent positive or “broadly supportive”.
“It’s clear that people care deeply about this place – not just as a memory, but as part of Ramsgate’s future,” the spokesperson added. “One local described it as a potential ‘game changer’ for the town, and that sense of excitement is shared far beyond Thanet.”
Heritage Lab Ramsgate have approached Thanet District Council about the proposals, as the council owns the one-acre car park and is considering its disposal.
They noted that any development would be done in consultation with the local residents.
Thanet District Council told The Independent that the Marina Car Park site in Ramsgate is included within a property disposal report that will be considered by the cabinet on Monday, 16 February.
The report recommends launching a marketing exercise to determine what interest and proposals could be an option for the site’s future.
It added that the car park “has been identified for potential redevelopment, which could generate greater economic and social benefits for the district”.
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