Haringey Council still failing to deliver on opening hours

Haringey Council still failing to deliver on opening hours

Tuesday 5 May 2026

Since taking over direct management of the lido 18 months ago, Haringey Council (owner and operator of the lido) has repeatedly committed to full daylight opening.

But opening hours reduced dramatically after they took over in October 2024, and in spring last year lido users were still being asked to bear with the council while they — desperately slowly — recruited additional lifeguards.

In August last year, we (Park Road Lido User Group) were assured that recruitment was no longer an issue (there had in fact been a surplus of qualified applicants) — lido users would now enjoy full daylight hours. After our Annual General Meeting in October, Haringey’s Cabinet Member for Leisure, Emily Arkell, went on to confirm that would include the lido opening at 06:30 weekdays, once it was light enough.

But for much of 2026, opening hours have failed to keep up: we’re still stuck with 07:30–17:30 when the lido should be open 06:30–20:30.

And things are getting worse: current weekday hours are more restrictive than this time last year, and no-one seems able to tell us when they’ll improve.

How Haringey has again ended up in this mess is unclear. Longer hours bring a range of benefits, including mental and physical wellbeing for a larger number of residents as well as additional revenue for the centre from those currently prevented from swimming before or after work. Other London lidos deliver convenient hours and see corresponding demand: Parliament Hill opens 07:00–20:30 weekdays, Brockwell 06:30–20:30, with Charlton and London Fields both open 06:30–21:00 (the last two with the help of floodlights).

We also continue to push for a clear, accurate explanation of recent changes to membership types and fees, for the installation of the long-promised lido clock, repair or replacement of the handrail for the main steps, and proper maintenance of the showers and toilets, among other things.

We hope Thursday’s council election returns a set of councillors who have energy and commitment to the lido, and that we start to see rapid progress from Haringey’s leisure team soon after. 

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And let us know your thoughts on the lido by emailing us at parkroadlug@gmail.com.