Forest Hill Pools is a leisure centre in Forest Hill, London. After being closed in 2006, it was rebuilt including two pools and a health and fitness suite and reopened in September 2012. It is located close to Forest Hill railway station, Forest Hill Library and Sydenham School.

Facilities

Forest Hill Pools has two pools, the 25 m length main swimming pool and the 16.7 m length learner pool. In addition, two exercise studios and a gym can be used for classes or a work-out. Also, a café area opened after the rebuild and a community room is available for hire.

Location

Forest Hill Pools are located on Dartmouth Road in Forest Hill, London (SE23 3HZ), in the centre of the town. Bus stop 'Dartmouth Road / Thorpewood Avenue' is right outside the building, served by buses 122, 24-Hour Route 176 and 197. The nearest train station is Forest Hill railway station which has frequent London Overground services with East London as well as with Crystal Palace and West Croydon. In addition, Southern trains go to London Bridge, Caterham and London Victoria.

History

The original Forest Hill Pools are a Victorian building. As the still existing foundation stone tells (3 May 1884), construction started in 1884. It was completed about a year later, providing an Upper and a Working Class swimming pool throughout the summer—in winter the First Class pool was boarded up and the space used for social events and political gatherings. In 2006, the original Victorian building was closed down following health and safety advice. After some debate, the pools were rebuilt in a new building using the original Victorian structure as the entrance. Now also included are a gym, a café and two group exercise studios. The new leisure centre was run by Fusion Corporation in the name of Lewisham Council. In 2021, after closing for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the centre re-opened under the management of Better (formerly GLL).

Redevelopment timeline

This is a short summary of the Lewisham Council rebuilding timeline with some extra information, referenced where added: