Pulling the plug: How Worthing said goodbye to the Aquarena, the town's beloved swimming pool

The swimming and leisure complex closed its doors for the final time on Saturday, April 13, 2013, ahead of the opening of the new £19.7million Splashpoint Leisure Centre. To mark the occasion, a ceremonial plug was pulled out of the water by Clive Roberts, Worthing Borough Council cabinet member for environment.

The Aquarena, a reinforced concrete-framed structure, was opened on January 27, 1968, by the then mayor of Worthing, councillor J.P. Ross. At the time, the building boasted a 33m main pool (the second in the country) with a learner pool, spring and diving boards, a café and a 462-spectator gallery, all for a contract price of £376,531. The cost for adults was two shillings (10p in today’s money), while juniors under 16 had to pay one shilling and three-pence (7p).

On the Aquarena’s last day, a series of events were staged, including an It’s a Knockout competition and an inflatables session. In the studio, there were skittles competitions, face painting, a photography workshop and more, while the gym staged an endurance competition. And several swimmers who attended the original opening ceremony were invited back to have one final dip.

Mr Roberts said at the time: “It is a day of very mixed feelings for me, sadness at closing the Aquarena which has been a major part of my life and has served Worthing well over the last 45 years, and extreme excitement about moving into Splashpoint with its fantastic, modern facilities.” Splashpoint was opened to the public on Wednesday, May 1, 2013, and officially opened by Ellie Simmonds on June 20, 2013.

To make way for Splashpoint, Worthing also lost Peter Pan’s Playground in 2010 and the open-air paddling pool in between that and the Aquarena in 2011. Both had been popular features for generations of children.