HOW A GLITTERING PALACE WAS SUNK.

It's a site which has caused more turbulence in the last 10 years than any wave machine. Ten years ago, when the land at 619 Purley Way was an open-air lido and car park, it rarely featured in the local press.

But then the momentous decision was taken in 1989 to finally replace the central swimming baths that closed in Croydon 17 years earlier.

The council embarked on what was heralded at the time in an official press release as "the most imaginative and exciting project undertaken by the council since it built Fairfield Halls almost 25 years ago," part of a package designed to "attract more visitors and to throw Croydon into the limelight in the 1990s."

It certainly achieved that, in more ways than one.

Boxer Frank Bruno officially opened Europe's largest indoor water park on Friday, April 6, 1990. It was operated on Croydon Council's behalf by Leisure Management Services, a sister company of Sunley Projects Ltd which built the park in the first place.

It was the jewel in Croydon's leisure crown - but while the people flocked to the Water Palace in their thousands, cracks began to appear in the pool's future inside the first six months.

By September 1990, council staff were forced to step in and run the £11 million complex as Croydon came to terms with the site's early management failure by the private operators. The operating company had warned that lower-than-expected turnover would force it out of business after its targets proved wildly optimistic.

Two general managers had walked out within weeks of each other as numerous press reports highlighted concerns over cleanliness and safety. But the council insisted the Water Palace could still be a success.

On June 5, 1994, 10-year-old New Addington girl Jenny Mantell suffered back injuries after being hurled against the pool wall by the wave machine and the accident again raised serious question marks about safety and staff training at the Water Palace.

The following July even more serious sirens were sounding. It was revealed that the Water Palace was still leaking cash in amounts few could have predicted.

Croydon was named and shamed on a list of 10 local authorities which were failing to reach financial targets with specific facilities. Attendance had fallen since the council took over the pool and officers were given until the end of the year to come up with ways of making the Water Palace financially viable.

But closure was tentatively ruled out. "The Water Palace is not going to close because we are going to make sure it stays open," vowed the then recreation sub-committee chairman, Councillor Chris Allen.

But by January 1996, it was clear the funspot would have to close with ever-spiralling financial losses running the pool into the ground. Bass Leisure put in a bid for the site and put forward plans to build a profit-making leisure complex on the site.

The then Tory leader Sir Peter Bowness said their plans were for "beer, booze, betting, burgers. That doesn't encourage the thought that Croydon is a nice place to live."

Just when it seemed the site's future had been secured, Bass surprisingly pulled out after promising to create 250 jobs in its American-style complex.

Then in August 1997, the district auditor fiercely criticised the council's handling of the pool's closure, saying it "represented poor value for money."

Earlier this year, the council sold the site to City Grove, who announced controversial proposals for a night club, sports club, themed bars and restaurants, debated at last week's plans sub-committee meeting.

No decision was made on the night and the plans are certain to cause heated debate at several committee meetings yet.

Some residents' groups in Waddon have condemned the proposals, forecasting more traffic chaos on the Purley Way and an influx of crime, with thousands of teenagers attracted into the area. Some have even demanded compensation from City Grove for the disruption the development will cause. Others, such as the Waddon Residents' Amenities Association, hope the plans will provide the catalyst for a revival of the whole area.

But the biggest criticism of the new complex is that it is a commercial development.

When planning permission was granted for the Water Palace, it was on the strict understanding that what was to be built would benefit the community. After all, it was all about replacing the town's swimming pool.

"Totally out of order" is how Tory planning spokesman, Coun Chris Wright described the plans last week. Labour says the cash from the sale of the site can now be reinvested in leisure facilities across the borough.

This is expected to include a town centre swimming pool at the East Croydon Gateway site. The problem is the council cannot afford NOT to sell the Water Palace.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.