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The view from the Lido this spring is, well, a tad bleak.
Residents living on Reservoir Road woke up on the weekend of the 12th December to a slightly new view, due to the installation of a new gate.
To say opinion was less than enthusiastic would be rather an understatement.
The gate seems to not have a single redeeming feature. Its ugly. Its not in keeping with the view it frames. Its a nuisance for users, it was expensive, and maybe even more curiously, appears to have no functional use.
Does the Lido need a gate there – well absolutely, to stop unauthorised vehicular access. Was there a gate before? Yes. Did it do the job – well yes. So why was a new one commissioned at a time when the Borough finances are so precarious?
No one knows. The only answer we’ve received is that it was to stop vehicles being damaged, which is so ridiculous it isn’t even worth discussing.
Silence from the Civic Centre
No one knew in advance it was being installed, including the Ward Councillors, one of whom was amusingly in Iceland (the country not the shop!) that weekend when the messages started flying around.
Fair enough, public servants need time out as well. But it all did seem a bit ironic.
Facebook post by Cllr Peter Smallwood, one of the Ruislip ward councillors, 12th December 2025
Sorry team, having a couple of day away in Iceland. So sorry I have not been able to come back to this sooner.
There’s a bit of context missing here, and it matters.
The £55,000 figure was not spent “on a gate.” (and yes I am also not overwhelmed by how it looks).
It covered a package of safety and infrastructure improvements across Ruislip Lido, delivered through the council’s Parks Improvement Programme.
That work included:
- Replacing unsafe timber balustrades with durable galvanised steel in key public areas
- Improving the main entrance from Reservoir Road to reduce congestion and improve safety
- Installing height restriction measures to prevent vehicle damage
- Refurbishing the worst-affected paths
- Making lakeside viewing platforms safe
- Refurbishing children’s play features to extend their lifespan
Many of those I am extremely keen to support, I know the many young people I have spoken to when I visit schools and other youth groups, would like to see many of the play areas improved.
The entrance works are one element of a wider set of improvements, not the totality of the spend.
It’s also worth saying that councils don’t run public design competitions for safety-critical infrastructure. These works are specified to meet safety standards, durability requirements, and long-term maintenance needs, not to win popularity contests on social media. Although that being said I am taking onboard some of the thoughtful and constructive messages in this post and those I have received on email.
People are absolutely entitled not to like how something looks. Taste is subjective.
But it’s simply not accurate to suggest £55,000 was spent on a decorative gate, or that nothing else was delivered for that money.
If you are a Ruislip resident and would like to discuss this further, please feel free to email me directly. I am away until Tuesday, so my usual quick response might not be as easy, if there is a sudden bombard to this post response.
I am sure Cllr Corthorne and Riley will have been on contact with those who have contact them on the matter.
Certainly no one has admitted liability, or claimed responsibility. Especially for the rather unusual design, which was described by one resident as looking like it was ‘typeset by a pigeon’.
Entertaining as perhaps this all is, it hides a darker problem.
A Deeper Disorder
The Lido is a mess. I don’t mean physically. It recently had a little spruce up, is litter picked daily (unlike surrounding streets but that’s another story) and has a couple of great staff members looking after it as best they can.
But it’s a disaster zone for six months of the year, for anyone unlucky enough to live within 15 minutes drive.
Residents have been flagging up the issues of emergency vehicle access for years – with all the evidence anyone should need provided on 29th June last year.
What that cost the emergency services in time and money, no one knows. Certainly no one at the council is saying…
Overdue and Under-assessed
Another concern has been the lack of a risk assessment. When the Lido is at peak busyness it can see over 5000 visitors in a day, with only a couple of weekend staff who clock off at 4pm.
What would happen if the Lido needed to be evacuated because of an incident? We would see the gridlock of the past, and worse.
At the Ruislip Residents Association AGM last year, the Leader of the Council Cllr Edwards said that he was aware it was overdue and it was in hand. A year later there is still no sign of it.
Dead on Arrival: The Funeral Traffic Plan
Now apparently the Council has agreed that the Crematorium, close to Lido Ground Zero, should be open for funerals at weekends including bank holidays. Residents immediately raised the points of parking and traffic, as the Crem car park is used as a Lido overflow on busy weekends. We have again received no answers.
To anyone who is familiar with the traffic flow on Bury and Breakspear Roads on a bank holiday, the idea that we should add funeral corteges into the mix is surreal. Being late for your own funeral can hardly be described as fashionable …
Facing the Financial Reality
The solution that seems to be staring us in the face is charge for entry to the Lido beach. It would hopefully reduce visitor numbers and give much needed income to deal with those that do come, and the problems arising, such as litter, noise and anti social parking to name just a few.
Its curious that despite the Borough being close to bankrupt (or actually bankrupt depending on who you ask) the Council is curiously reluctant to consider this.
For more detail on the recent errors and lack of transparency, the RRA recently posted an article last month titled: Council’s Lido visitor “survey data” contradicted by FOI response.
So where does all this leave residents?
Who Pays the price?
For Hillingdon residents, it leaves them paying for the resource and cash black hole that is Ruislip Lido.
For non-Hillingdon residents, it leaves them able to enjoy what residents foot the bill for, with no contribution if they choose not to use the extortionate car parks.
For Lido residents, it leaves them facing yet another summer of misery.
For Hillingdon Leadership, it most certainly leaves them bearing the moral responsibility for failing to take action. Responsible for the pain inflicted on residents, for which they clearly care not a whit, but responsible when the incident we’ve been warning about finally happens, and people are seriously injured or worse.
This guest article was provided to the Ruislip Residents’ Association by residents who live around the Lido.
The embedded YouTube videos are songs from the ‘Hillingdon Musical‘ that were posted to the Ruislip Community Group Facebook group
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