Getty Images
The Victorian gasholder off Old Kent Road is was given listed status in 2017
A grade II listed gasholder in south London could host a wild swimming pond, Southwark Council has revealed.
The new park, to be named after the gasworks founder George Livesey, in the area surrounding Gasholder No. 13 is part of wider regeneration works along the Old Kent Road.
If given the green light, a swimming pond would form half of the installation with the other being a pond with reed beds which would provide natural water filtration.
Council documents said the facility would be “a unique health offer, with nothing similar in London, the UK or Europe”.
The plan was unveiled at a Southwark Council committee meeting earlier this month.
Southwark Council
Southwark councillors heard it was “early days” in the development of the swimming pond plans
A council officer told the meeting that the council owns most of the land at the former gasworks while the gasholder itself is owned by gas distribution company SGN Networks.
“What we’re proposing is to convert that into an open outdoor wild swimming provision. It would be cold water swimming,” the officer said.
“The idea is it would be filtered naturally through reed beds, so nice and bio-diverse.
“It would be unique, not just in London, but anywhere. There isn’t a historic gasholder with a swimming pool in it.”
Getty Images
The proposal could see the centre of the historic gasholder become a “really unique” attraction
He said it was still “early days” for the proposal and the council is “scoping out the business case and the cost”.
Works on the “local landmark” could be partially funded by the development of 800 homes on land owned by SGN close to the gasholder, councillors heard.
Gasholder No.13, built in 1879-1881 by the engineer Livesey, was listed as a grade II building by Historic England in 2017.
The council officer said the proposals would be “quite a nice fit with George Livesey”, who was “quite the Victorian philanthropist” after building a nearby library, and hosting allotment and sport grounds on the gasworks.
“We think it’s something that would be really unique for the area,” he added.