Crystal Palace Park Sauna Plan: 4 Saunas for 50 People

London’s biggest community sauna operator wants to open in Crystal Palace Park, the lead story in a week of sauna planning news. A Pembrokeshire beach sauna has been refused, a horsebox sauna is planned on the Downs above Lewes, and two council leisure centres, in Lincolnshire and County Antrim, are promising swimmers a sauna again.

Crystal Palace Park could get a community sauna for 50 people

The Crystal Palace Park Trust and Community Sauna Baths CIC have applied to Bromley Council for a community sauna and a park office on part of the former Caravan and Motorhome Club site, at the northern corner of the park near the transmitter, My London reported on 22 October. The plans include four saunas, one of them with disabled access, plus plunge pools, showers, changing cubicles, a therapies space and a refreshments counter. It would open 7am to 10pm every day, with a half-day closure once a week for maintenance, and hold up to 50 people at a time; the operator expects about 200 visitors a day.

Permission is sought for five years, with every structure temporary and removable so the land can go back to open parkland. Community Sauna Baths already runs sites in Hackney, Camberwell, Walthamstow, Stratford and Peckham, and My London says a Stoke Newington site was approved earlier this month. Its hour-long sessions typically cost £12, or £6 with a concession, though no price has been set for Crystal Palace. The application is reference 26/03341/FPA on Bromley Council’s planning portal, where you can comment.

If you are in south London and want to try a social sauna before then, our guide to the best saunas in London covers what is open now, and sauna and cold plunge explains how to run a hot and cold session. Report at My London.

Pwllgwaelod beach sauna refused by the national park

The Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority has refused Wildwater Sauna Ltd’s plan for a seasonal mobile sauna at the Boat Yard on Pwllgwaelod Beach, near Dinas Cross, the Tenby Observer reported on 22 October. The 10-seat timber unit would have run from December to May each year, for three years.

Officers recommended refusal because the site lies wholly in a flood zone and in open countryside not allocated for visitor development, even though the scheme would “bring modest economic benefits”. Their report noted that an unauthorised sauna is already operating at the boat yard, which is being investigated separately and has nothing to do with this applicant. It is the second Pembrokeshire beach sauna to run into planning trouble this autumn, after the Saundersfoot refusal that pushed Hwyl Outdoor Sauna to apply for Coppet Hall. Our sauna trailer guide explains why mobile saunas still need planning permission when they stay on one site. Report at the Tenby Observer.

A horsebox sauna planned at the Old Lewes Racecourse

The Salt Block Ltd, which runs a café in the old racecourse buildings above Lewes, has applied to the South Downs National Park Authority for a mobile horsebox sauna, cold plunge facilities, an outdoor shower and changing on grazing land at The Motor Road, the Sussex Express reported on 20 October. The change of use would be temporary, for three years, with about 3m by 3m of removable timber decking.

The application is reference SDNP/26/03697/FUL on the national park’s planning site. Our guide to wood-fired versus electric saunas covers the choice most horsebox operators make. Report at the Sussex Express.

Spalding’s new £28m leisure hub will get a sauna after all

South Holland District Council has agreed to add a sauna to its new £28m South Holland Health and Wellbeing Hub in Spalding, after campaigners complained the plans had none, The Spalding and South Holland Voice reported on 21 October. The current Castle Sport Complex has one. As recently as August the council said adding one would be too expensive.

At last week’s full council meeting, Cllr Gary Taylor, the portfolio holder for the project, said he had asked officers to include sauna provision in phase two. There is no design yet, and it will not be poolside like the current one. “This isn’t some rumour, it’s going to happen,” he told the paper. Report at The Spalding and South Holland Voice.

Ballyclare’s Sixmile Leisure Centre to replace its broken sauna

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council plans a new sauna and steam room at Sixmile Leisure Centre in Ballyclare, Northern Ireland World reported on 21 October. Council minutes say the sauna has not worked for two years because of the state of its fabric, mechanics and controls, and the ageing steam room has kept breaking down. The new prefabricated units will sit next to the pool, and the work is due to finish in the 2026/27 financial year; the cost was not disclosed.

A two-year closure is a reminder that heaters and controls wear out. If you are weighing up a home sauna, our guide to what a home sauna costs includes the running costs owners forget. Report at Northern Ireland World.