A green frog sculpture which was once a landmark of Nottingham’s Victoria Embankment paddling pool is expected to be brought back as part of its redevelopment.
The pool was first built in 1928 but has been out of use since 2021 after it developed a leak.
Works on a major repair and revamp started on Monday (July 29) with a re-opening planned for spring 2025.
Nottingham City Council secured £750,000 in funding from developers, a government grant and the National Lottery Heritage Fund to develop a brand new paddling pool, splash pad and new pumping system, alongside water jets.
The cultural significance of the pool is also important, local leaders said as more major work got underway on Friday (August 2).
Councillor Eunice Regan (Lab), representing the Meadows ward, said: “I brought my daughter down here, 40 years ago to the paddling pool as it was.
“I have just become a new grandmother all over again and I am looking forward to bringing my granddaughter back down to use the swimming pool.”
Cllr Regan said the refurbishment will not only have new features, like the splash pad, but is also designed to be sustainable with an in-built recycling plant to recycle the water.
The green frog sculpture, which was removed before the redevelopment and was seen as a landmark of the old pool, is expected to be encorporated into the new site, she added.
Nottingham south Labour MP Lilian Greenwood said: “I think it will be incredibly welcomed, people have really missed being able to come down here with their families and paddle.
“It is about preserving the tradition of paddling which dates back almost 100 years on this site while at the same time making it fit for the modern century.
“I also think it will bring people not just from across Nottingham but from further afield, this is a really popular area.”
Mary Lester, Director of Resident Services at the council, said the authority engaged with local schools to ask what the children wanted to see at the new pool.
She said: “This is such a community project… it was seizing up, it was leaking- it wasn’t saveable at all.
“The finances and the challenges we had, we had to think about where we spent our money.
“The passion to get this up and running meant we could get additional funding.”
