MP backs plans for open air swimming pool return
BBCAn MP has backed a campaign to reopen a heated lido, but is warning it will be "a big challenge".
Stanhope Open Air Swimming Pool in County Durham, which only operated during the summer season, closed in 2023.
The charity which runs it has agreed a new 30-year lease on the facility, which first opened in 1974, but more work is needed to rejuvenate the facility.
After a meeting with the pool's trustees, Bishop Auckland MP Sam Rushworth said: "It will not open this year but they are up for it and I'll do all I can to help."
"We discussed plans for renovation and modernisation and how to finance it so locals and tourists can again experience the joys of open air swimming, but it's important to manage expectations here," he added.
Dr Steve Lumb, a long-time supporter of the pool, said Rushworth was "very supportive" and "hopefully has some good contacts who might be able to help with funding".
LDRSOne of just a handful of open-air pools in northern England, it welcomed 8,000 swimmers in 2022, the last year it opened.
But a major electrical failing in the plant room plus rising costs saw it closed in 2023.
An asbestos survey has been completed and Lumb said the charity planned to do "a thorough assessment of the electrics and plant room, including the boiler, filters and pump".
"Our biggest problem is that we currently have no money to undertake this work so we are actively seeking funding," he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
The charity is also seeking help from companies and tradespeople to carry out maintenance work, including structural repairs, resurfacing, landscaping.
