![\"Deborah](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_Deborah-Aydon-Lido-storyPic-Andrew-Teebay.jpg\")
Deborah Aydon, the brain behind ‘The People’s Pool'(Image: Andrew Teebay\/Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n‘We need this kind of accessible leisure to be able to improve our health and bring us all together’Deborah Aydon, the brain behind ‘The People’s Pool'(Image: Andrew Teebay\/Liverpool Echo)<\/p>\n
With high temperatures across Merseyside, the appeal of a cool, open-air swim is hard to ignore. But while cities like London and Bristol are reviving their historic lidos – or building new ones – the Liverpool City Region remains without a single public outdoor pool.<\/p>\n
That wasn\u2019t always the case. Once, there were 11 lidos across the region, from Southport<\/a> to New Brighton<\/a>. And in 2018, theatre producer and creative Deborah Aydon launched ‘The People\u2019s Pool,’ a project that aimed to bring outdoor swimming back to Merseyside. The vision was bold, inclusive and community-focused – an accessible, year-round space that would promote public health, connection, and joy – not to mention cooling us all down in the heat.<\/p>\n With early support from Wirral Council<\/a> and growing grassroots momentum, it looked like The People\u2019s Pool might really happen. But then the pandemic struck. Local authority backing was lost and the idea lay dormant.<\/p>\n Deborah spoke to the ECHO<\/a> about the story behind the project, the challenges it faced, and whether Merseysiders might ever swim again in a public lido of our own.<\/p>\n Describing the moment she came up with the idea for The People’s Pool, seven years ago, Deborah, who is the former executive director of Liverpool Everyman and Playhouse theatres, said: \u201cI was very aware that we used to have a lot of outdoor pools on Merseyside – there were 11 back in the day. And we\u2019d lost them all.<\/p>\n \u201cOutdoor swimming was massively growing in popularity. Lots of lidos that had been closed in the late 20th century were being revived, and it felt like something that we needed here in Merseyside.<\/p>\n \u201cI started by writing a few emails to people saying, \u2018I\u2019ve got an idea. I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s a mid-life crisis or a project. Have you got time for a coffee?\u2019 So we had some coffees and everyone thought it was a good idea, and told me I should speak to this person, this person and this person – and I did.<\/p>\n “Very quickly, this huge network developed of people who wanted it to happen and were looking to help – whether they were local politicians, community groups, swimmers, or people I\u2019d worked with through the Everyman.”<\/p>\n In March 2020, Wirral<\/a> Council approved the award of an \u00a380,000 sum to The People’s Pool’s team for feasibility studies. New Brighton, which had once boasted a lido, was the preferred location for the pool. Deborah explained: \u201cWirral Council came on board because New Brighton was one of the most spectacular pools that Merseyside had had – and the community had always wanted their lido back.<\/p>\n \u201cIt fitted with the council\u2019s goals of reviving New Brighton as a resort.<\/p>\n \u201cBy early 2020, I had a huge group of people who wanted to be part of it, a large and growing number of people who wanted to swim in it, lots of people who could help to make it happen – and Wirral Council, who were keen to have it on their patch. It was all really exciting.”<\/p>\n Deborah’s excitement would not last. By 2021, The People’s Pool had already been awarded \u00a312,500 of the \u00a380,000 approved a year earlier. However, due to money the council had lost during the coronavirus pandemic, further approval would be required for the remaining \u00a367,500 of the grant.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/0_The-opening-of-The-New-Brighton-Derby-LidoWallasey-New-Brighton-Merseyside.jpg\")
The opening of The New Brighton Derby Lido in 1934(Image: Mirrorpix)<\/p>\n