Islington people missing out on the craze for wild swimming could get an open air pool of their own after a floating lido in the Regent’s Canal was proposed.

Swim City Basin launched the idea in 2019, in the hope of changing Islington’s status as one of the only London boroughs without an outdoor public swimming facility.

Initial plans included a floating three lane, 25m pool in City Road Basin, as well as a children’s pool, café, changing facilities and fitness studio.

The waterway, which is an offshoot of the Regent’s Canal, is owned by the Canal and River Trust and home to Islington Boat Club.

The organisation behind the lido plan says that it aims to compliment and promote the ongoing use of City Road Basin by the boat club.

The group has worked with Finnish company Bluet Floating Infrastructure on the technical viability and concept design of the proposals.

A pre-application meeting was held with Islington Council in 2021, where the planning department reportedly questioned the scale of the development and the impact on the waterway.

A revised proposal, which reduced the scale of the building and overall footprint of the development, was presented the following year – but the council reportedly still had concerns.

Swim City Road has now tried to drum up support for their proposals, holding an informal consultation at Angel Canal Festival last weekend.

Almost 500 people at the event said that they would back the plans, with only four opposing them, the group claimed.