New national Lido fund could be springboard to longer opening for Peterborough’s open- air swimming pool
Peterborough Lido could be in line for a facelift and longer opening hours
A new cash boost for Peterborough Lido could be the springboard for funding a longer season for the open-air swimming pool.
Hopes are growing that a new national fund to preserve the UK’s Lidos could mean more investment for the city’s 90 year old pool, which traditionally opens each year between March and September.
And in the light of new forecasts for longer and hotter summers in the UK, it is likely that demand to use the Lido will rise among swimmers in Peterborough.
The Lido saw a record number of uses over the last season with 60,000 swimmers taking the plunge at the venue as temperatures reached new highs including five heatwaves.
Peterborough MP Andrew Pakes said: “Hopefully the new fund will be a welcome boost and will help spruce up Peterborough Lido and help keep it open for longer.”
He said it was not yet known how much investment from the new fund would be earmarked for the Peterborough Lido but key meetings are expected to take place over the next week.
The move is likely to be welcomed by the Friends of Peterborough Lido.
Clare Marshall, chair of Friends of Peterborough Lido, has told the Peterborough Telegraph that the group would ‘welcome any plans that will enable the Lido to open for longer each year and for future generations.’
The creation of a new national fund for Lidos was announced by Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy in the House of Commons following a campaign by Mr Pakes.
She said: “We are creating a public leisure facilities programme that will provide support for lidos and other swimming facilities, and that, thanks to the work that he and others have done to campaign for this, the programme will include the first dedicated fund for lidos that this country has produced."
Mr Pakes said: "For places like Peterborough, the lido is far more than somewhere to swim.
“It is a much-loved part of our city's heritage, bringing people together across generations.
“This fund is a welcome recognition of how much these places matter. I want to see it help protect treasured lidos like ours so future generations can enjoy them too."