LOVING DALSTON CAN TODAY report good news. Repairs to London Fields Lido are going well enough to be described as on target for a “late summer re-opening.” 

Early claims of an August opening have been quietly dropped but the claim above is more cautious even than the council website, which still refers more optimistically to a “summer re-opening.”   

The news in the first paragraph has come from a council executive so is from a good knowledge base, although Hackney council has not let this news site talk to the contractors and none will talk on the record.

The executive, neighbourhoods director Kim Wright, told Loving Dalston: “The pool tank tiles have been removed and work is under way to expose the pool slab before the retiling of the pool tank can start.

“This work has been slightly delayed by difficulties in removing the material beneath the tiles. Additional workers have been brought in to complete these works to ensure the programme remains as close to schedule as possible.

“A canopy has been built over the pool so that the works can continue in the event of rain.

 “To prepare for the construction of the new reception area and changing rooms, various walls and ceilings have been taken down and the floor slab is being dug out for new drainage.”

Cutting equipment and a specialist excavator had been needed to finish the job. (This will add to the cost of the repairs, a subject on which Hackney is as tight-lipped as it is on whether compensation will be sought.)

Wright, who earns £166,477 — more thanTheresa May gets for running the UK, added: “Obviously, unforeseen challenges are an inherent part of the construction process but, where they have been encountered, they are being dealt with in a timely fashion to remain as close as possible to our target of a late summer re-opening.”

Keen readers of this site will notice the addition of a word to the initially announced “this summer”. Still, the pictures seem to indicate that the contractors, operating in a field not exactly swimming [groan] with expertise in the UK, know what they are doing.

Hamish Scott 050617

* Backstory:Hackney council seeks solution to lido horror; Happy, smiling high-paid elite of Hackney Town Hall; Hackney pulls plug on Haggy Baths hopes; Investors flood in for pool; Hackney washes its hands of heritage site; London Fields Lido lights up

* All pictures supplied

* Emboldened underscored words in most cases indicate a hyperlink, a reader service rare among websites. If a link does not work, it is probably because the site to which the URL refers has not been maintained. A link in no way expresses support for any site.