Pool reopening 'on track' despite costs doubling

The restoration of a 1920s outdoor pool remains on track despite costs doubling to as much as £10m, the community group behind the scheme says.

The lido in Tynemouth has been derelict since being closed in the mid-1990s.

Michael Wood, of the Friends of Tynemouth Outdoor Pool, said the group had been "researching and speaking to" about 100 possible funding partners, including Sport England, the Heritage Lottery Fund and the North East Combined Authority.

If reopened, he believes the 25-metre facility could become a "gem" on the coastline.

The group was granted conditional planning permission by North Tyneside Council last summer.

Mr Wood said the last 12 months had been spent updating a number of assessments requested by the authority.

Despite the rise in development costs, Mr Wood said people should "not be put off" giving their support to the project.

Also a founder of the Future Lidos group and an assistant professor in sport management at Northumbria University, he said restoration would have cost £4-5m in 2016.

"Our best estimate is that's now doubled," he said.

"But leisure facilities bring a significant socio-economic return on investment so that figure shouldn't scare anyone."

The group said it expected about 50,000 paid-for swims each year, plus membership schemes, events, and food and drink facilities, making it "a sustainable business".

"Generations of people could learn to swim at the site and develop a life-long love for it - that brings with it health and well-being benefits for those users," he added.

The Friends group intends to submit its updated assessments to the council, which owns the site, within the next three months.

Should the scheme eventually win full approval, Mr Wood said a number of ownership models would be explored with a specialist leisure operator likely to be chosen via a tendering process.

The UK has about 135 public lidos with dozens more facilities privately owned.

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