The campaign to reopen Peckham Rye Park’s buried lido has surpassed its crowdfunding target after two big pledges from Southwark Council and a local businessman.
Southwark Council’s £10,000 donation on Monday brought the Peckham Lido project’s total to within three-quarters of its £63,347 target.
On Tuesday afternoon the target was reached thanks to a £3,000 donation from Southwark resident Dan Sutherland, CEO of tech firm Carrenza.com.
Another resident, Fraser Simpson, became the final and 1,108th pledger, taking the campaign to £63,933, with ten days still to go before its deadline.
Chris Romer-Lee, director and co-founder of Studio Octopi, told the News: “We’re absolutely delighted.
“The rollercoaster of these crowdfunding [campaigns] never ceases to amaze me. Just when there was a little glimmer of a doubt that you’re not going to make it, the unbelievable happened.
“I think Southwark Council putting it that £10,000 really acted as a catalyst. Maybe when people saw them add their support it really make them think there was something to this.
“The position the council are in is that they can’t spend the money themselves and wouldn’t be able to afford to run the Lido, but they can give their support to people who want to start their own projects like this.
“We now have to look way beyond and see how we’re going to start building the thing. We’ve got a long way to go but we have stormed it.”
Donations have also come from London mayor Sadiq Khan, as well as actor James Norton, pop star Katy B and MP Harriet Harman.
The company who founded the campaign was architectural firm Studio Octopi, who will now use the money to proceed with a planning application to the council: a business plan, commercial strategy, and to undergo public consultations.
The bid to reopen the outdoor pool was launched in May, with the hope of reviving a lido that existed at the north-end of the park between 1923 and 1987, before it was filled in.
The new designs from Studio Octopi are for the pool to be 180-foot long, with space for a café and community area. The pool would also be heated and chlorine free.
Visit www.spacehive.com/peckham-lido to find out more about the project.