saltwater

AN ABANDONED building in a popular seaside city is set for a multi-million-pound transformation into a major attraction complex.

Swansea’s Civic Centre in Wales is set to be transformed into an aquarium, with a saltwater lido outside and also boast a number of restaurants, bars and cafes.

The £22million project which be located right be the beach will be in the currently empty seafront civic centre – a 1980s Brutalist building.

As well as the aquarium, there will be a rooftop terrace, beach lido and 130 apartments.

The terrace will overlook the bay and then outside the building, pictures show garden areas with pathways.

Around the aquarium there are also plans for a number of cafes, shops, bars and workspaces.

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Then visitors can head down steps onto the beach to find a saltwater lido, which would be open year-round.

There will be “areas for leisure and events” too according to Swansea Council, spanning across 5,481sqm.

Councillor Rob Stewart, Leader of Swansea Council, said: “The Civic Centre is one of the UK’s finest waterfront sites, and this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform it into a destination people will be proud of.

“We’ve listened to residents, refined the plans and now want people to tell us what they think before we take the next step.”

David Warburton, Development Director at Urban Splash – which is the company behind the project – said: “This is a big milestone for the project and an exciting moment for Swansea.

“Our vision is to celebrate the Civic Centre’s heritage while creating a thriving waterfront destination that will serve the city for generations.”

The new aquarium and lido are part of a larger £750million, 20-year regeneration plan for several sites across Swansea.

It isn’t the only new addition to Swansea, with plans for a new £10million attraction.

Set to be the first of its kind in Europe, the Swansea Skyline project, will have a gondola-style lift and downhill karting experience.

And plans for the world’s fastest ferry could come to Swansea, linking the Welsh city to North Devon.

It could have speeds of up to 60 knots (70mph), making it faster than HSC Francisco in 2013 with speeds of 58.1 knots (67mph).

ONE of the oldest lidos in the UK is set to undergo a huge expansion with a new spa and children’s water play area.

Droitwich Spa Lido near Birmingham originally opened in 1935 and is one of the few remaining open-air, saltwater pools in the UK and now, it will get a £12.5million facelift.

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There will be several new features at the lido including a spa experience, a new brine pool, a new reception and a new water play area for little ones.

Other parts of the attraction will be updated, including reintroducing Art Deco features, enhancing the cafe and refurbishing the changing rooms.

Councillor Richard Morris said: “The Droitwich Lido is seen as one of the best in the country and when the public were consulted about the Town Prospectus the residents in Droitwich rated it the area they were most proud of after fighting for it to be reopened in 2007.”

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He added that the final design might evolve, but that the lido is expected to open in the first half of 2028.

Currently, the destination already includes a heated saltwater pool, children’s wet play area, sun terrace and a cafe.

The 40metre lido also sits on vast deposits of salt, which have been extracted from the ground for centuries.

In fact, the natural brine in the town is 10 times stronger than sea water and when the lido first opened, diluted brine was pumped from the local streams into the pool to keep it aseptic.

It was then heated to the temperature of the Mediterranean Sea and marketed as the ‘seaside of Droitwich Spa’, without actually being on the seaside.

The lido previously closed in 2000, but remained a popular attraction with many travelling to just see the once busy open air pool.

Then in 2007, the lido reopened having been completely refurbished, with the water still using a natural brine feed.

Previously, the pool was even named the fifth best in the country by The Times.

The pool is already open for the 2026 season and is heated to between 22C and 26C.

General swim sessions costing from £7.20 per adult for an hour or £9.40 for two hours and £7.20 per child per session.