You can say what you want about the A259, but the part of this coastal Sussex road that runs from Newhaven to Brighton is magnificent. The road undulates along with sweeping views of the cliffs as you head towards Brighton and when Saltdean Lido comes into view, you can’t help but catch your breath for a moment. It is a splendid and graceful building, with nothing quite like it elsewhere in the county, and it’s no surprise that the volunteers who work there love it like a dear friend. But it was so very nearly lost. And more than once.
The development of the coast
Just to the east of Brighton and Rottingdean, until relatively recently, Saltdean was sleepy, open farmland (as a place, it dates back to at least the 17th century). Then in the 1920s and 30s, one Charles W. Neville decided to develop it into a stylish seaside holiday town. Neville developed much of the open land between Newhaven and Rottingdean, including Peacehaven and the Tudor-style cottages on the corner of Dean Court Road in Rottingdean.
The birth of a lido
Following the development of Peacehaven, Neville’s sights turned to this salty valley and he commissioned the building of holiday bungalows, a grand hotel (the Ocean Hotel – now flats) and a magnificent lido. The architect who designed the hotel and lido was one Richard W. H. Jones and the style was modernist or Art Deco. The lido and hotel were to be the showpiece of the town, and it’s not hard to imagine how impressive and wonderfully modern the lido we see today must have looked in the 1930s.
The decline of the lido
Sadly within just over a year of its opening, England was at war and by 1941, the lido and hotel had been requisitioned by the National Fire Service. In the post war period, lidos became less popular and Saltdean’s fell into disrepair. Despite various efforts to save it, the future started to look bleak. Brighton Council restored the lido in 1964, but some of their alterations were not very sympathetic. The lido limped on to 1997 when disrepair and huge potential restoration and maintenance costs caste a shadow over its future once more and by 2010, it was lined up for demolition, to be replaced with a development of a number of flats.
Cue the locals and a brighter future
In March 2010, local residents launched the Save Saltdean Lido Campaign and by 2011, the building’s listing was upgraded to Grade II* status and put on the English Heritage ‘Building at Risk’ Register. Thereafter, the Saltdean Lido CIC (SLCIC) was founded and nothing short of an epic fundraising campaign and restoration project got underway.
In 2018, Saltdean Lido was named by English Heritage as one of the Seven Wonders of The English Seaside. Restoration officially began in earnest in November 2021 and was completed in March 2024. The same year, the building was removed from the ‘Building at Risk’ Register. Saltdean Lido is now considered a Grade II* listed modernist icon and has won a Sussex Heritage Trust Award.
The facilities
At the heart of the complex, is a beautiful, crescent shaped outdoor pool and paddling pool. Inside, the front part, overlooking the pool has a beautiful staircase, glass panels and an effortlessly stylish vibe. Hercule Poirot, eat your heart out. There are curved windows, Art Deco designs, vintage swimming costumes and lots of attention to detail.
But there is lots more besides, like their café and restaurant, a gym, a sauna, a library, space to hire as well as lots of events.
The external façade remains reminiscent of the bow of a ship, as was the original concept so that .swimmers have, “the impression of being on board a ship ready to set sail”.
The people behind the lido
In early 2025, the latest round of Sussex Heritage Trust Awards were officially launched at Saltdean Lido, giving the chair of Saltdean Lido SLCIC, Derek Leaver, the architects, RH partnership, and some of the volunteers a chance to tell a little of the story behind the rebirth of the Lido. Undoing some of the intrusive and unsympathetic refurbishments done in the 1970s, making good decades of sea and salt damage and restoring the central stair were just a few of the significant challenges that had to be overcome. But everyone involved in the project spoke with such passion pride. This is a building that is much loved.
As an outsider, Saltdean Lido is elegant, stylish and terribly cool. It’s the sort of place that you wish you lived near. Just a hop and a skip away across the road, is the dramatic coastline and another Art Deco building recently reopened as a cafe. The undercliff path take you from here all the way to Brighton marina. It’s a dramatic and interesting corner of Sussex. And Saltdean Lido is now what she was always meant to be, the queen of Saltdean, the showcase of the town and an icon of all that is modern (even if now, she’s actually quite old). If you get the chance, visit.
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