Friends of Guildford Lido is a forum for those dedicated to supporting, promoting and enjoying Guildford Lido.  It is run for, and by those who love the Lido.

We are dedicated to providing a strong voice for Lido users and this is closely dependent on increasing our membership.  Please join FOGL today – membership is FREE – email us, visit the Become a Member page, join our Facebook page using the link on the side panel and follow us on Twitter.  Support FOGL, support the Lido.

We aim to discuss with and represent the views of all interested parties on all matters relating to the future state and operation of the Lido. Originally formed in 1988, it played a leading role in fighting a threat of closure; following the success of that campaign FOGL lay dormant until early summer 2009 when it was revived in response to changes in the running of the pool and a council review into its future management.

Current FOGL Committee: 

Chair: Nigel Fielding; Commitee members: Jim Boucher, Janetta Bensouilah, Peter Hall, Neil Guthrie

(All committee members are volunteers who work full-time so if at times the committee work seems less dynamic than might be wished for, patience, understanding and offers of help from other FOGL members are greatly appreciated).

Both now and in future we will:

  • promote and develop the Lido and provide practical help to the management in order to enhance the Lido experience for all users
  • be a voice for all users of the Lido
  • create and share ideas for activities that widen public participation, satisfy the needs of all stakeholders and realise the financial and social potential of the Lido for the local and wider community
  • seek to ensure provision for a fair, integrated, approach to the clubs and organised, water-based, stakeholders
  • promote the Lido as a focus for the region’s outdoor swimming and watersports organisations
  • promote the Lido as a venue for social functions and water-based sporting events.

What we have done

  • Run a successful campaign to fight closure of the Lido several years ago
  • Revived FOGL since its dormancy following that campaign and built a large membership base by directly contacting users of the Lido – this continues to expand
  • Created a web site
  • Joined Twitter and Facebook
  • Established contacts with key people from other outdoor pools around the country from whom we can draw inspiration and advice
  • Produced and issued regular newsletters to all our members
  • Established support amongst local businesses
  • Made representation to the Council’s Lead for Leisure, secured his support and public commitment to seeing the Lido flourish
  • Represented FOGL at relevant meetings of the Executive of Guildford Borough Council and the Scrutiny Committee since our formation in July 2009
  • Lobbied Councillors and gained their public commitment and support for the Lido
  • Held regular minuted meetings of FOGL and made these minutes publicly available
  • Gained the support of a local PR company
  • Ran our first online survey of Lido users and presented the findings of this survey to Spectrum Leisure management, Councillor Terence Patrick and Jim Miles in September 2009
  • Made representations to management and secured their agreement to have a later end of season closure in 2010 and early morning swimming sessions. These are being trialled during the 2010 season.
  • Suggested selling blocks of discounted tickets as an alternative to the season ticket. This has been introduced for the 2010 season.

What we are doing

  • Focussing on coming up with creative ideas for generating income and widening participation for the Lido
  • Working on a diary of social and swimming events for members
  • Developing a long-term strategy for the Lido and FOGL
  • Communicating with local Management on issues that matter to members of FOGL
  • Sharing our vision of the Lido with Councillors to ensure we influence all decisions on future management options

Future plans

  • To continue to broaden FOGL membership to ensure all users of the Lido have a strong voice in how it is developed and run
  • We wish to see a further extension of opening hours and season to allow maximum use by the whole community – year round opening is our ultimate aim
  • The promotion of the Lido as a venue for a host of events such as open air theatre productions, musical events and other fundraising and income generating activities
  • To develop the Lido as a focus for the region’s water-based activities
  • To actively monitor and participate in all stages of the current procurement process being undertaken by Guildford Borough Council which will see the Lido under new management from April 2011 and to report to our members all news relating to this

About our logo and website

We thank Tom White for his design of our logo. Following a brief that stated that we wanted the Friends of Guildford Lido logo to be a close reflection of the long standing and deep affection for the Lido that our group represents, and in keeping with our aims to promote and support the Lido, we are proud that he has achieved this with his design, a design that is closely modelled on that used by the Lido itself.  Tom continues to assist us in website matters and provides us with invaluable support.