The future of an open-air swimming pool is up in the air as a council remains tight-lipped about when it will make a decision.
Barnet Council says it is still in the process of analysing the responses of over 3,000 people about potential changes for Finchley Lido Centre, which has been operating in High Road, North Finchley, for 28 years.
A consultation was held between December 13 last year and February 6 to gather thoughts on whether the lido should be relocated to North Finchley town centre to create a “modern and more sustainable facility at the heart of the town."
Other options include potentially refurbishing or redeveloping the existing site.
When asked on an estimated date for a decision or further details of what the majority of responses said, a spokesperson for the council did not elaborate.
The spokesperson said: “There is a lot of feedback, and the comments are valuable, so we want to consider them properly and will provide further details on next steps once we have completed our analysis."
A statement continued: “We know the Finchley Lido Leisure Centre is important to local people and wanted to hear people’s views on it before bringing any concrete proposals forward.
“We have received over 3,000 responses to the consultation and would like to thank residents for sending in their comments.”
When launching the online survey, Barnet Council explained that the lease of the Great North Leisure Park – the current location of the facility – is being sold as a standing asset or with redevelopment potential.
As a result the consultation was launched to explore a possible refurbishment or redevelopment of the leisure park and a potential relocation to the town centre.
The consultation explained: “The latter would bring a new leisure facility to the town centre as part of the placemaking aspirations of the town centre regeneration.”
Barnet’s housing and growth committee chair, Cllr Ross Houston, said that at this stage it is an “exploration of options”.
He added: “Unfortunately, the existing lido building is near its end of life and not fit for purpose long-term, it needs replacing with more modern, more sustainable options put in place.”
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