A crowdfunding campaign will be launched today (13 May) to revive a historic lido in Peckham, South East London, with a new design by architecture practice Studio Octopi.

The original 50 metre (164ft) outdoor swimming pool, called the Peckham Rye Lido, served swimmers and sunbathers from 1923 until 1987 before closing. The pool was filled in and now only a crumbling fountain remains where it once stood.

Community group Peckham in South-East London plan to build a new lido on the exact site of the old one. They enlisted Studio Octopi – who have worked on a crowdfunded scheme to create outdoor baths in the River Thames – to design an Olympic-sized pool and a wild swimming pond channelling the River Peck, which runs directly under the site.

Described as a “modern mecca for sunbathing, health and wellbeing to attract all walks of life,” the lido will be surrounded on two sides by a new ‘Peckham Beach’. It will feature single-storey pavilions housing a gym, yoga studio, café, multi-purpose community space and rooftop sunbathing area. On the other two sides, the lido will be open to the existing topography and trees of the site, and space for an outdoor cinema.

Peckham in South-East London aims to raise £60,000 (US$86,400, €72,200) to fund the next phase in development and planning applications, and is launching a campaign on crowdfunding platform Spacehive which will run until 31 July 2016.

“Peckham like the rest of London is changing so quickly right now,” said founder of the campaign, Ben Lloyd-Ennals. “It's essential we harness this great energy and prosperity to keep London fun and livable; which is what the Peckham Lido is all about. We should not be closing lidos. We should be saving them, and building more.”

In addition to the Spacehive campaign, the organisers are in discussions with local commercial organisations about sponsorship and partnerships. They have also received backing from Southwark Council, local MP Harriet Harman and artist Tracey Emin.

In the last decade, outdoor swimming in the UK has enjoyed something of a renaissance, with outdoor pools re-opening across the country. Ennals said this trend can breathe new life into deprived communities, boost local employment and create invaluable swimming facilities for local schools and swimming clubs.

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