Beccles lido work starts

Beccles Lido.

EMILY DENNIS

27 November 2009

They have battled for three years to save Beccles' outdoor swimming pool from closure and now volunteers have finally been able to start work on the site.

Beccles Lido volunteers have gained access to the pool site to start maintenance and minor development work following months of discussions with Waveney District Council.

The lease negotiations between the district council and Beccles Lido Limited (BLL) are continuing and are likely to be concluded early in the New Year.

In the meantime the district council has given the volunteers permission to carry out basic work now that appropriate insurance cover is in place.

Beccles Lido volunteer coordinator Graham Norgate said: “Even after the first two days the pool site is looking very different and for the first time in many years there is a real sense of hope and a long-term vision for the pool. Under the ownership and management of BLL the pool has got an exciting future.

“There is still a huge amount of money to be raised but being able to make visible progress at the pool is very exciting.”

Graham Elliott, district councillor for Beccles north, who has helped with the works, said that as well as demolishing an old canoe shed volunteers had also demolished a rotten cubicle where the lifeguards used to sit. He added that a tree surgeon from Bungay would be visiting the site next week to deal with overgrown trees and those in bad condition.

Maureen Saunders, a director of BLL, said the group is grateful to local firm V C Cooke for supplying them with skips free of charge. “Support from local businesses is vital if we are to get the pool open in May,” she said.

Mrs Saunders said the district council has estimated about £90,000 will be needed to get the pool open, however it was hoped to reduce this to £50,000. She said BLL had applied for some grants and is awaiting the outcome of these. The group has already raised around £30-35,000. “We still need a lot more money and are continuing to fund raise,” she said.

Earlier this year campaigners were celebrating after the district council which gave up running the pool on Puddingmoor because it was not cost effective agreed to hand over the running of the pool to BLL.

The decision was taken by the cabinet in July to transfer the facility with the condition that if BLL does not have funding for the pool in place by April 2011 the council will reclaim and sell the asset.

Anyone who is interested in doing practical work at the pool should contact Graham Norgate on 01502 712369.