Looking back as the future of the bathing pool site in West St Leonards comes under the microscope

The pool was 330 feet by 90 feet, with a capacity of over 800,000 gallons and seating for 2,500 people. It had been created by the borough engineer Sidney Little, who was then building Bottle Alley and had already rebuilt the eastern end of the promenade in 1930, and had constructed the Falaise Hall in 1928 and the Great Sanders dam in 1929.

Work had started on the Bathing Pool in January 1932, and it was officially opened on 27 May 1933 by Sir Humphry Rolleston in front of 5,000 spectators. It was an immediate great success, having 33,000 visitors in its first week. The pool graduated in depth from 2ft to 15ft under a spectacular international diving stage. Also on that day, major new facilities at the White Rock Baths were opened.

In spite of the pool's many contemporary features, commercially it was not a success. Hastings was desperate to attract visitors, but the pool was really much too big for the town. The Black Rock Pool at Brighton, built around the same time, was only half the size. Hastings' pool only made a profit in its first year of opening, and as early as 1946 the town council tried to find someone to take over a lease on it. During 1952 the British Olympic Swimming team used the pool for training.

But despite its widespread local attraction, the pool closed in 1959 and in 1960 it passed into the hands of Alderman Sid Withers, who converted it into a down-market holiday camp. In 1980 it was acquired by Arthur Carrington and his wife Margaret who had been running the cafe in the Bathing Pool. Their low-quality business kept going till the pool closed in 1986 when Hastings Council said that a marina could be built there (but wasn’t).

Hastings Council in the summer of 1987 began a massive three-year programme to restore all sea defences following the severe storms of 1984. The scheme included replacing almost all the groynes, plus renewing the ‘bullnosing’ along the edge of the promenade from Warrior Square to the Bathing Pool. The pool was the contractor’s headquarters, and part of it was demolished to provide a base for the project’s heavy machinery. The rest of the Bathing Pool was demolished in 1993.

In 1998 Southern Water constructed storm storage tanks below ground on the site, then covering them in turf. After years of indecision, Hastings Council in 2021 announced outline plans to include homes, tourist attractions, cafes, art studios and a slipway. Local residents have campaigned against what they see as over-development, and the May 2 exhibition will display the latest proposals. The developers, West Marina St Leonards Ltd, will be holding a consultation event on Tuesday April 29 from 3pm to 7pm at the Project Space in Electro Studios on Seaside Road.