More work needs to be carried out on Grange Lido and that the seafront facility is unlikely to be open before the summer.
The news follows the decision of an independent surveyor who was called in to avoid legal action between Westmorland and Furness Council and the contractors who worked to save the landmark structure.
The £6.8 million project, which also includes work on Grange promenade, began in April 2023.
The council’s contract was let with the aim of reopening the lido site with a temporary infill of the original pool and creation of a new multi-use public space within the Grade II-listed site.
Two years on, in May 2025, the authority warned that that the lido would not be open to the public in summer 2025 after all.
In a statement the council said: “The concrete repairs require further assessment in order to complete the investment in this much-valued asset.”
The council also stated that a revised programme of work would be received in the coming weeks following a detailed assessment.
When no news had been released by August, we asked the council for an update but heard nothing.
The authority has remained tight-lipped about the project ever since despite attempts to gain an insight from the organisation whose cabinet recently considered a new consultation and engagement strategy.
It’s now emerged that the developers, RG Irving Construction, has agreed to carry out the work identified by the independent surveyor.
It is understood council tax payers will not be expected to contribute as the tasks were covered within the original remit of the contract.
While work is said to be starting soon it will take several months for it be completed.
Westmorland and Furness Councillor for Grange and Cartmel Tim Bloomer will be sharing more details of the resolution with members of Grange Town Council on Monday, but said he was feeling more optimistic about the project.
He said: “I’m 38 now but can just about remember bobbing in the lido as a boy. I do believe that we are closer now than at any time in the 30-odd years since it closed to getting it back into use.”
He added that from the outside it is hard for passers-by to see the scale of the work that was needed to stabilise a structure built just above the Bay that includes what he describes as vast holding tanks beneath the lido’s terracing.
“They are the size of a parish church and it was a huge piece of work to repair this part of the site,” Coun Bloomer said.
Phase 1 of the regeneration work has seen the pool filled in with material described as both removable and recyclable.
Save Grange Lido, the group which is aiming to take over the site and begin phase 2 – reopening it to swimmers – say they are determined as ever to continue their work despite the delay.
“We understand that people are frustrated about the lack of visible progress at Grange Lido – and no one feels that more than the Save Grange Lido team and its members, who have worked tirelessly for many years to see the site brought back into use,” Janet Carter, the chair of trustees, said.
“Our wider plans can be seen on the Save Grange Lido website, but once the current work by the council is complete, our first step will be to reopen the main pavilion and begin sharing the history and heritage of this much-loved site with the community once again.
“Projects like this take time, but we believe it will be worth the wait and we appreciate the community’s continued patience and support by joining our fourth Cross Bay Walk on July 12 – a popular event that has sold out every year.”
With the lido set to mark its centenary in 2032 maybe swimmers could finally be enjoying the benefits of a long-running fight to keep it afloat.
