Service · Greater London
Outdoor Swimming Pools
Concrete tanks, heating, covers and landscaped surrounds
Indicative rate
£1,000 / m²
Typical programme
10–25 weeks
Portfolio examples
5
Coverage
All London boroughs
Overview
An outdoor pool is the centrepiece of a garden, and it works best when the pool, the terrace, the planting and the plant room are designed together rather than dropped into a finished landscape.
Foxter builds reinforced concrete outdoor pools across London and the commuter belt, with tiled or liner finishes, stone coping, heating, automatic covers and full landscaped surrounds. Our indicative benchmark is £1,000 per m² of water surface at standard specification, £1,500 premium and £2,000 luxury, before groundworks and landscaping.
Access is the first thing we assess. Getting an excavator into a London garden, and thousands of tonnes of spoil out of it, is frequently the hardest part of the whole project.
What a typical package includes
- Site survey, access strategy and ground investigation
- Structural design and planning application where required
- Excavation, spoil removal and reinforced concrete tank
- Waterproofing, tiling, mosaic or liner finish
- Stone coping, non-slip terrace and level detailing
- Filtration, circulation, dosing and plant room construction
- Heat pump or boiler heating, and automatic or slatted covers
- Underwater lighting, controls and automation
- Drainage, backwash disposal and garden reinstatement
- Landscaping, planting, fencing and safety measures
How we deliver it
Survey and access
Levels, ground conditions, water table, tree constraints and how plant and spoil will physically get in and out.
Design and consents
Pool and structural design, planning where needed, and a build-over or drainage strategy.
Groundworks
Excavation, spoil removal, drainage, service routes and plant room base.
Tank and plant
Reinforced concrete shell, pipework, waterproofing and plant installation.
Finishes
Tiling or liner, coping, terrace, lighting, cover installation and garden reinstatement.
Commissioning
Fill, balance, test, hand over with operating instructions and a maintenance schedule.
Concrete, liner or one-piece shell
A reinforced concrete tank with a tiled or mosaic finish is the premium option: any shape, any depth, decades of life and the best finish. A concrete shell with a reinforced liner costs less, builds faster and gives a 10–15 year liner replacement cycle. One-piece fibreglass shells are quickest of all, but access into a typical London garden usually rules out craning a whole shell in.
The shape follows the garden. A narrow London plot often suits a lap pool along one boundary, leaving usable terrace and planting rather than a token strip of grass around a wide rectangle.
Heating, covers and the UK season
An unheated outdoor pool in London is comfortable for perhaps six weeks a year. An air source heat pump plus an automatic or slatted cover extends that to roughly May through September at reasonable cost, because the cover retains heat overnight and cuts evaporation — the single biggest heat loss.
We size the heat pump to the surface area and target temperature, and we position the plant room to keep pipe runs short and noise away from the house and neighbours.
Safety, drainage and the surrounding garden
Backwash water needs a legal disposal route, surface water must be managed so the terrace does not flood, and coping and paving need a slip rating suitable for wet bare feet. Where children use the garden a safety cover, alarm or compliant fencing is designed in from the start. Finally, the garden has to be put back: we reinstate levels, drainage and planting so the pool looks like part of the landscape rather than an intervention in it.
Outdoor swimming pools examples
All outdoor swimming poolsIllustrative concept case studies — not records of specific client contracts.
SW19Outdoor Swimming Pools · 2024
Wimbledon Outdoor Pool
Formal outdoor pool set into a clipped hedge garden with wide stone terrace. Sample case study set in Wimbledon (SW19).
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SE21Outdoor Swimming Pools · 2023
Dulwich Outdoor Pool
Infinity-edge pool with covered loggia, fire table and full evening lighting scheme. Sample case study set in Dulwich (SE21).
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EN5Outdoor Swimming Pools · 2022
Barnet Outdoor Pool
Natural-planted swimming pond with timber deck, stone edging and biological filtration. Sample case study set in Barnet (EN5).
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KT1Outdoor Swimming Pools · 2025
Kingston Outdoor Pool
New reinforced concrete pool tank built from excavation to tiling with automatic cover. Sample case study set in Kingston (KT1).
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W14Outdoor Swimming Pools · 2024
Holland Park Outdoor Pool
Courtyard plunge pool with heated bench seating, brick walls and stone coping. Sample case study set in Holland Park (W14).
View project →Outdoor swimming pools near you
We cover every Greater London borough. These are some of the areas where we work most often.
Outdoor swimming pools FAQs
How much does an outdoor pool cost?
Our indicative rate is £1,000 per m² of water surface at standard specification, £1,500 premium and £2,000 luxury, before excavation, plant room and landscaping.
Do I need planning permission for a garden pool?
An outdoor pool within the garden of a house is often permitted development, but conservation areas, listed properties, flats and any enclosure or pool house change that position. We check before designing.
How long does it take?
Typically 12–20 weeks on site, weather and access dependent, plus design and consents beforehand.
Can you build a pool with restricted access?
Usually yes. We use smaller plant, conveyors and manual spoil handling where a machine cannot get through. It adds time and cost, which we set out honestly at quotation stage.
What maintenance is involved?
Weekly water testing and dosing, regular filter backwashing, seasonal opening and closing, and annual servicing of pumps, heaters and covers. We hand over a schedule and can arrange ongoing maintenance.
Heat pump or boiler?
An air source heat pump is the efficient choice for a pool because it heats a large volume slowly. Boilers are used mainly where the pool is heated fast and occasionally, or where plant space is tight.
Next step
Price your outdoor swimming pools
Use the instant quotation tool for an indicative range in under a minute, or book a site visit and we will issue a fixed price against a written scope.