Three months after it was announced it would not be open in time for this summer’s season, there is still no news on when the troubled former pool in Grange will open.
£6.8 million is being spent on developing the once popular pool and bolstering sea defences.
In May, Westmorland and Furness Council warned that the lido would not open this summer as originally planned citing concrete repairs as an issue.
The authority said a revised programme of work following an assessment would be received in the coming weeks.
This week the council said that assessment was continuing.
Contractors RH Irving Construction is carrying out work, which has drawn positive comments from passers-by.
Newly renovated brickwork, windows and roofing looks like it has been completed.
The pool has been filled in and planted as a temporary measure which, through newly installed railings, looks inviting but remains tantalisingly out of bounds.
The contractor’s website contains details of how the project involved extensive external and internal repair, alteration and refurbishment of the Grade II-listed complex.
It adds how the site is located within constrained and environmentally sensitive area, with complex access arrangements.
The scale of the work is also set out:
- Extensive external and internal remedial works to four dilapidated existing listed buildings.
- Repair and reconfiguration of existing terraces and paths; formation of accessible accesses and circulation areas
- Infill of former Lido pool; installation of new drainage infrastructure and upgraded incoming electricity supply.
- Extensive temporary works were required to maintain and protect structural integrity of existing buildings.
Supporters Save Grange Lido continue to raise funds for the project and with 3,500 followers on Facebook alone, the group is keeping the ambition to reopen the pool alive.
With a date for the opening still be confirmed and the summer season now all but over, visitors and locals alike will need to be patient for a while longer.
