Outdoor swimming pool improved with £100k grant

General manager, Matt Day, was delighted with the new heated canopy and solar panels

A charity-run outdoor pool has unveiled improvements to help boost the popularity of cold water swimming this winter.

Dozens of solar panels were installed at Beccles Lido, in Suffolk, together with a new all-weather, heated canopy to provide shelter during the colder months.

A new outdoor shower unit was also built to help swimmers warm up after a dip.

The installation of 52 solar panels and the canopy have been paid for by a £102,519 grant, jointly funded by the government and Sport England.

Since investing in better facilities, Beccles Lido said it saw an increase in the number of people turning up to the pool during the winter

Matt Day, general manager of Beccles Lido, said: "We have got three heaters under the new canopy which we will have turned on during the winter season so there will be an area for the swimmers to warm up and have a tea or coffee.

"Since we began investing in the facilities here for cold water swimming, the number of people turning up has increased and its definitely the right thing for us to be doing.

"We hope that all our solar panels will now provide up to 70% of our electricity which is great, especially when our energy bills keep rising."

He added: "Keeping the pool running at 15C over the winter is actually cheaper for us than disposing of the water and then cleaning and refilling the pool in the spring."

The new showers were funded from a £30,000 legacy donation from the estate of the late Peter Hinsley. The legacy also paid for new picnic benches this summer.

Beccles Lido said keeping the pool running at 15C over the winter would be cheaper than emptying the pool and then cleaning and refilling it in the spring