THE Lido’s new operators had a “rosy” first opening as a sunny four-day Bank Holiday weekend saw swimmers and diners discover their new offering.
“It’s gone relatively smoothly,” said St Clement Constable Marcus Troy, one of the Lido’s new operators, adding that feedback was “generally good” and “things are quite rosy”.
The new operator, First Point, was granted the lease for the management and maintenance of the site earlier this year and now operates under the name “Lido Jersey”.
“I’m glad that we’re open,” Mr Troy said, adding that some minor mistakes had now been “sorted”.
The First Point takeover of the Lido was anything but smooth, with a months-long tender process that prompted major protests in the Royal Square.
Having initially been named as a preferred bidder, the Love Our Lido community group had this status revoked when negotiations with the government broke down, with a decision then taken to award the contract to rival bidder First Point. This sparked protests and it later emerged there had been failings within the tender process, prompting Infrastructure Minister Andy Jehan to restart the bidding.
Despite Love Our Lido re-entering the second tender process, the community group withdrew over concerns about the cost of the running the site, with the government offering a £60,000-a-year figure, while Love Our Lido estimated that it would need closer to £200,000.
“I think all the angst probably has died down,” Mr Troy said. “We are now pretty cool with the swimmers.”
Mr Troy had initially hoped to move in to the site before the winter, which would have given him several months to kit out the space.
He took over the site on 1 April, he said, and had brought in new kitchen equipment.
While he had “a business to tend to”, swimmers were welcome to use tables set out for them, or come into the the building with a flask and warm up. Improvements including lockers in changing rooms were in the works, he added.
“By and large, we’re very happy with what we have done so far,” he said, adding that more additions to the site were “in the planning stages”.
There are already bookings for parties, he said and an extended menu will hopefully come in at the start of May.
Mr Troy said he was hoping to “up the ante” by working with other businesses in Havre des Pas, to attract more families to the area.
Under the new arrangement, the Lido business receives a £60,000 annual grant from government to maintain the entire site, including the pool, outdoor areas and building. Their income from the restaurant and kiosk will need to cover any other expenses.
