Derelict Grange Lido opens for public tours

The saltwater pool opened in 1932 and is one of the last remaining British Art Deco lidos in the north of England

A derelict lido in Cumbria is to open for public tours, offering people access for the first time since 1993.

The Grade II-listed structure in Grange-over-Sands has been boarded up since it closed.

Save Grange Lido has been awarded Heritage Lottery funding for a series of open days.

Site owner South Lakeland District Council is to submit a planning application to turn it into a "multi-use public space".

If the plans are approved the development will include restaurants and cafes, plus space for live performances and art exhibitions.

The guided tours, which have to be booked, start on 17 August.

Janet Carter, from Save Grange Lido, said the news was "really exciting".

"People are going to get into the first floor of the pavilion, which will give them a full vista of the bay - it's beautiful up there," she said.

People will be allowed into the pavilion

Redevelopment plans do not currently include the return of swimming, but the possibility remains open should a viable business case be put forward.

Councillor Robin Ashcroft said: "It's a regional asset, some might argue a national asset.

"[Save Grange Lido] wants to restore it as a pool, which would be a tremendous thing if it could be made to happen, but it's a big if."

Artist's impression of the "multi-use public space"