IN Brief:
- Accoya and MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME were specified for the restoration of Plymouth’s Grade II listed Tinside Lido.
- The materials package targets marine exposure, heritage detailing, reduced maintenance cycles, and long-term public use.
- Lifecycle performance and lower-maintenance specifications are becoming more central to coastal heritage regeneration projects.
Accoya and MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME have been specified for the restoration of Tinside Lido in Plymouth, with the materials package shaped by a familiar coastal problem: how to preserve heritage character without locking a public asset into repeated maintenance cycles.
The Grade II listed Art Deco lido, opened in 1935 on Plymouth Hoe, sits in an aggressive marine environment where salt spray, sustained humidity, storm impact, and heavy public use all have to be factored into design and product decisions. The restoration was commissioned by Plymouth City Council as part of its National Marine Park project.
The project team is notable in its own right. Currie & Brown managed the scheme, LHC Design led the design work, Airey & Coles provided structural input, SDS handled building services engineering, and Nevada Construction delivered installation. Across the site, Accoya has been used for sun terrace decking, external doors, windows, benches, planters, handrails, and sensitive joinery repairs, while MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME panels were engineered into large-format seasonal storm shutters.
The specification was closely tied to both the architectural demands of the site and the operating conditions it faces year round. Matt Oxley, architect at LHC Design, said Accoya had allowed the team to “revitalise the Lido’s Art Deco elegance with durable, low-maintenance elements that will endure decades of public use.”
That same balance between appearance and resilience also shaped the use of MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME in exposed areas. Roly Ward, Head of Business Development at MEDITE SMARTPLY, said the panel is “engineered to deliver exceptional durability and dimensional stability, making it well suited to demanding coastal conditions,” adding that its resistance to fungal decay and rot makes it suitable for exposed marine environments such as Plymouth Hoe.
On a heritage scheme like this, the value is not limited to exposure performance. The material stability allowed slimmer profiles and tighter tolerances across curved and exposed components, which is relevant on a project where the geometry is central to the original Art Deco expression. The MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME specification also brought a lightweight alternative for the storm shutter package, while retaining the design flexibility needed for more complex architectural forms.
That operational logic also feeds into lifecycle and maintenance decisions. MEDITE TRICOYA EXTREME carries a guarantee of up to 50 years above ground and 25 years in ground, while the wider timber package is tied to long service life and reduced repeat finishing cycles. For publicly backed regeneration work, particularly on seafront assets expected to perform as year-round destinations, reduced replacement cycles and fewer invasive maintenance interventions are increasingly built into the specification from the outset.
The wider refurbishment reopened the site in May 2025, and Tinside now operates as a seasonal saltwater pool from May to September alongside all-year event space. Material choice will not determine whether every coastal heritage project stacks up, but it still tends to determine how often teams are forced back into remedial work. At Tinside, the specification has been asked to carry heritage detail, public use, marine exposure, and lifecycle discipline at the same time.
