A HERITAGE group has called for a new £4.5 open air swimming pool development to be scaled down or it will badly effect the seafront.

Historic England has warned that the cafes, restaurants and office spaces proposed for the Sea Lanes swimming pool should not clash with similar uses proposed for the Madeira Terraces in pre-application advice on the plans.

Their inspector also called on the team behind the scheme on Brighton’s seafront to demonstrate how their swimming pool will not undermine the business case for the Saltdean Lido.

Historic England assistant inspector Alma Howell’s letter to the city council, seen by The Argus, states that “the overall amount, height and density” of the one to three-storey buildings proposed “will cause harm to the character and appearance of the East Cliff Conservation Area as well as well as to the significance of the grade II listed Madeira Terraces”.

She called for the buildings to be limited to just one storey and for the regeneration of the city’s seafront to be carried out in a “holistic and co-ordinated way”.

Lido bosses have welcomed the intervention saying that the presence of a rival in the city will undoubtedly harm the prospects for their own project.

The Sea Lanes proposal would see a 50-metre eight-lane pool with changing rooms, sauna, exercise studios, café, leisure-related shops and offices built on the long-vacant Peter Pan’s playground in Madeira Drive.

Brighton developers Copsemill Properties and Hove-based SwimTrek say the facility will be the first of its kind in the country.

In April, SwimTrek’s Simon Opie said it was hoped a planning application could be submitted by the end of the summer.

In the pre-application advice submitted to Brighton and Hove City Council, the inspector said the Sea Lanes team needed to demonstrate their pool would not undermine the business case for the lido.

The Historic England advice also recommends that the team should consider ways to contribute to the restoration of Madeira Terraces and not prejudice their future re-use.

Council leader Warren Morgan revealed in June that glass-fronted pods proposed for the £24 million restoration of the Victorian arches could include cafes, shops and business spaces.

Saltdean Lido CIC chairwoman Rebecca Crook said the Historic England advice to the city council was “really encouraging”.

She said: “Competition is great and the more venues for local people and visitors the better but it will have an impact on our business plan.

“I’m not sure how Sea Lanes can overcome Historic England’s concerns about their impact.”

“Brighton and Hove City Council’s focus is on the main seafront but it’s important that outlying areas are not forgotten.”