Grange Lido £5.2m renovation approved by council

The original pool will be filled in

Plans to renovate a derelict lido have been approved by councillors.

The Grade II-listed Art Deco attraction in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria has been boarded up since 1993.

South Lakeland District Council agreed a £5.2m contract for renovating the main pavilion and diving platform. The pool and terracing are to be filled in.

Cabinet member Andrew Jarvis said it could back out or "accept that this is the right thing to do, even if the cost is more than we initially anticipated".

"It is still going to cost us, even though we have had to trim some of our aspirations, including much more limited work on the changing rooms and the exclusion of the central water feature, which still leaves us with a gap of nearly £900,000 to fund," he said.

The deficit could not be "shrugged off lightly" but the council could call on reserves to cover the additional expense, he said.

People strongly supported the lido's restoration, a council consultation found

Built in 1932, the coastal lido closed after 61 years as the number of users diminished while the operational and repair costs increased.

It is not on Historic England's "at risk" register but councillors were told this could happen within the next three to seven years if work was not carried out, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Failing to re-purpose the site and carry out urgent repairs would lead to "even greater costs", the council said.

Save Grange Lido, which has been campaigning for a full restoration, including the 50m pool, welcomed the funding approval.

Chair Janet Carter said a fully functioning lido would "bring significant economic, cultural, health and wellbeing benefits to South Lakeland and beyond".