Grange Lido is an open-air 50 m sea-water swimming pool, or lido, in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, England. It opened in 1932 and closed in 1993, but campaigners are working to see it re-opened as a swimming pool. [1] The lido is in Art Deco style, and is grade II listed. [2]
The lido opened in 1932. The buildings were designed by Grange-over-Sands Urban District Council's surveyor, named Bernard Smith [2] or Thomas Huddlestone. [3] The lido sits on Grange promenade on the shore of Morecambe Bay, although as of 2019 [update] the changing course of the River Kent means that the sea is at some distance from the promenade, separated by salt marsh. The 165 ft × 112 ft (50 m × 34 m) [3] pool was filled with filtered sea-water at high tide, and was unheated. [2]
The buildings are in Art Deco style. Historic Pools of Britain describes the lido as "A very fine intact Art Deco mushroom shaped lido in a stunning setting on the edge of Morecambe Bay". [1]
English Heritage state the reasons for the lido's grade II listing in 2011 as:
- Completeness: as a complete example of a 1930s lido with the survival of all key ancillary buildings and structures
- Pool: for the unusually shaped pool, designed for multiple uses and which retains its original stepped diving stage.
- Historic: as an evocative reminder of the former popularity of sea-side towns such as Grange over Sands and the inter-war cult of fresh air, fitness and mass leisure [2]
Pevsner's The Buildings of England (revised ed. 2010), within its description of Grange promenade, simply says "Lido, 1933, closed 1992, and now very forlorn". [4]
The lido suffered damage from floods in 1977, when the outer wall was breached, but celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1982 with a special gala. [5]
The lido closed in 1993, [2] after a report suggested that necessary repairs would be too expensive to be justified. [5]
In 2011 the Save Grange Lido campaign was established, aiming to "transform it into a vibrant community owned leisure facility with a restored 50m pool at its heart." [6] [7] The group has produced a detailed business plan setting out how it believes this could be achieved. [8] It is a community benefit society. [6]
In 2015 South Lakeland District Council began to consider future uses for the site which would not include a swimming facility: the pool area was to become a "landscaped open space". [9] In February 2019 the council allocated £2million for "light touch refurbishment" of the lido, to include making it structurally sound, bringing it back into public use, and providing refurbished units for community groups or entrepreneurs. [10]