'New lido revamp plans sent me to bed very happy'

When a council announced it had secured ownership of a dilapidated lido, it created fresh hope that the pool could be revived after years of broken promises.

No swimmers have dived into Broomhill Lido in Ipswich since it closed in 2002 and it stands a derelict and broken shadow of its former self.

Now Ipswich Borough Council has obtained the rights to architectural designs and unveiled plans to breathe new life into the 1930s building.

Among those desperate to see it reopen are "King of the Channel" Michael Read, president of the Broomhill Pool Trust.

"I had no idea we'd have this bombshell of really good news, and I went to bed last night very happy," he told the BBC.

Read is no stranger to the positive mental health benefits an outdoor swimming facility can have on a community.

The 85-year-old started swimming aged 14 and became the first man to swim the English Channel 33 times.

Earlier this year, he won five gold medals in his age group at the Open Masters Games, in Abu Dhabi. He qualified for the 1960 Rome Olympics team before injury ruled him out of the competition.

Read, who was partial to a dip in the lido back in the day, said the now-derelict site was once a hive of activity.

"In those days we would've had 2,000 people a day in the pool, it was absolutely heaving," he added.

"Not everybody was in the pool - most people were on the side enjoying the sun, their sandwiches, making friends, running around, playing chess or even table tennis."

He has welcomed a renewed bid to salvage the site.

"It would be the most wonderful and perfect present for Ipswich and for Suffolk," he said.

"There are so many hurdles we've got to get over, and in the last 24 years we have jumped over every one of those hurdles right up until today.

"Now we've got to start the process all over again and I hope it'll go very smoothly."

Mark Ling, chairman of the Broomhill Trust, also has "very fond memories" of it, having grown up opposite the pool in a house where his parents still live.

"We've got probably one of Britain's finest lidos - we love this place and it really it was part of Ipswich," he said.

He added he was "cautiously optimistic" that the project to revive it – which has encountered several false starts – would eventually be completed.

"It's very, very slow, but we hope it's moving in the right direction and I'm pleased with what we're hearing," he said.

"If we can put this right back in the centre of Ipswich, a lot of people would be very proud of that."

Since shutting in 2002, plans to restore the lido have failed to get off the ground, and last year the National Lottery Heritage Fund withdrew nearly £7m in funding.

It had joined forces with the council, which owns the freehold for the site, and Fusion Lifestyle about nine years ago in an attempt to save it.

Pledging £3.8m to the project in 2018, it said it would invest a further £3m in 2023, while the local authority vowed to inject £3.3m.

Work was scheduled to start last year but Fusion Lifestyle had been "unable to provide assurances about their financial position" before entering administration in April.

The council, which has also obtained rights to the architectural designs, will therefore have to resubmit applications for funding to the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Neil MacDonald, leader of the Labour-run borough council, said he was aware everyone was "desperate for this to happen" - but it would take time.

"It can be a slow and frustrating process," he said.

"But we have worked very well with the Heritage Lottery on the museum in Ipswich, and hopefully we can do a similar job on Broomhill Lido."

Tony Gould, Reform UK group lead on the council, is equally as keen for swimmers to return to the lido.

"Swimming is an essential life skill and the government recognises this by placing an obligation for all schools to make provision for swimming lessons," he said.

"All Suffolk schools make this provision, but what a wonderful opportunity it would be for children also to be able to swim safely in an open-air pool.

"We must all help to make this dream come true. The lido has my full support."

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