Commercial Pool Project of the year
The Brighton Sea Lanes pool is a 50x12m stainless steel outdoor pool, located on the sea front at Brighton. The speed of the proposed build and its location made a stainless steel shell an ideal choice for construction, with minimal maintenance and extensive service life. The pool is served by a traditional filtration plant, built to PWTAG standards and recommendations. The facility has invested in a number of upgrades to improve water quality and the costs of running the facility.
Sea Lanes is the new swimming centre on the seafront in Brighton UK. It’s been designed as a gateway between pool and open water swimming and we hope it will become a hub for the sport and recognised as the national open-water swimming centre.
The facility has a 50m, six-lane outdoor pool/lido sitting right next to the beach with beautiful sea views, as well as changing rooms and 34 business units housing additional facilities and support services.
Owners of the Sealanes development?
There are four main shareholders, Ross Gilbert, MD of QED Properties, Joe Mcnaulty, MD of Copse Mill Properties, Andy White, founder of Ocean Set and open water swimmer Simon Murie of Swim Trek. South Downs Leisure is operating the pool on a 25-year lease.
Building a dedicated Open Water Swimming centre
The Sea Lanes development is a dedicated Open Water Swimming centre, and is a first for the UK. Its location on the beach at Brighton makes it a unique development, and a major part of the Brighton sea front redevelopment plan. The initial idea of the an Open Water Swimming Centre began back in 2015, with Brighton & Hove city council running a competition to develop the empty plot at 300 Madeira Drive. The Sea Lanes proposal came second to a luxury sea spa, but the winner never went further than the concept stage. The Sea lanes team were asked again if they were interested, a new idea formed. A dedicated pool for Open Water Swimmers and Athletes to train, all year round, with support facilities and businesses.
Beach Front Development
The new idea was developed in to a full blown commercial concept, and a planning application submitted to the council for consideration. Planning and commercial restrictions on beach front developments resulted in a protracted design phase, with a number of proposals rejected before the final design was accepted. The complete development process was also hampered by the arrival of COVID, which delayed proceedings and the start of the project.
Pool Build
The green light for the project was given in June 2021, Wrightfield Pools were expecting a summer build on the beach at Brighton, not a bad place to be on a summers day. The reality turned out to be a little different, the planning restriction on site access across the Volk’s Beach Railway resulted in an out of season build.
Construction for the 50m pool was going to be in the winter, on the sea front, exposed to all the elements. Not the start we were looking for. Construction of the Stainless Steel pool shell went well, and we soon had the outline of the pool shell complete, despite the supporting slab resembling an ice rink some mornings.
The site engineers persevered through the conditions, and we soon had the shell complete, some six weeks after starting. Piping and service connections followed, with the plant room being installed in the first quarter of 2023. The vinyl lining to the shell was installed in mid May, with the pool fill and commissioning taking place shortly after.
Swimming Centre Opened June 2023
The Sea Lanes dream was finally turned in to reality on the 2nd June 2023, with the opening of the UK’s first Open Water Swimming Centre. The ribbon was cut by Olympic Medalist Keri-Anne Payne, followed by a contractors client swimming Gala for fun. I think the home team got the gold.
Membership exceeded expectations
The Sea Lanes centre has been well received, with membership exceeding all expectations. The Sea Lanes centre is run by South Downs leisure, in association with their other facilities in the Brighton area. The associated building around the pool now host a wide variety of small businesses, ranging from Hove Village Nursery, Bison Beer, to Luna Wave Yoga. The facility is a great success, and has achieved what it set out to do. It’s an Open Water Swim destination for the country.
Swimming Pool Technical Information – Pool Design
The swimming pool features a modular construction with a stainless steel pool shell, ensuring durability and modern aesthetics. It includes a fully welded deck-level gutter with 20mm grey plastic grating, designed to handle surge weir flows between 12-18.05m²/hr. The pool tank finishes are crafted with 316L stainless steel for the gutter and wall panels, while the support structure uses 304L stainless steel. The pool wall and floor linings are covered in an ice-blue UPVC membrane, with lane lines highlighted in black UPVC membrane for clear visibility.
Dimensions and Capacity
This impressive pool measures 50.30m in length and 12.00m in width, encompassing a perimeter of 124.06m and a surface area of 600.36m². It maintains a uniform depth of 1.3m and holds a total volume of 780.00m³, making it ideal for various aquatic activities.
Filtration System
The pool’s filtration system is designed for optimal water quality, featuring a turnover rate of 3.6 hours and a flow rate of 217m³ per hour. It includes 230 inlets, each with a flow rate of 0.96m³. The central drain flow is rated at 95m²/hr, with a surge weir flow of 18.05m²/hr and a maximum suction flow of 1.5m/sec. The delivery flow can reach up to 2.0m/sec.
Pool Plant Design
The pool plant comprises four bobbin-wound filters (∅2m) utilising Dryden Aqua AFM media grades 1-3. It has butterfly valves above ∅50 and UPVC pipework rated at 6 bar. Four ASTRAL pumps with strainers ensure efficient water circulation, and a heat exchanger maintains optimal water temperature for swimmers.
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