A grade II-listed 1930s lido in Ipswich could become the only 50m pool in Suffolk - if a council’s bid for ‘levelling up’ funding is successful and enables it to reopen.
The restoration of Broomhill Pool joins the building of a new sports centre in Gainsborough as projects planned with the £18m of potential government funding.
The bid was made on August 2, with the outcome expected in the autumn. It is expected the building of the lido will need £1.1m from the funding, on top of the £7m already raised for its restoration.
Alongside the restoration of the lido, a retractable boom and moveable floor would allow the 55-yard pool to be extended to 50m.
High diving boards on the site would be brought back into use and the pool would be heated to lengthen the outdoor swimming season.
Mark Ling, from Broomhill Pool Trust, which has been campaigning and fundraising for the reopening of the lido since a year after its closure in 2002, said: “I grew up opposite this awe-inspiring lido, and there’s a photograph of me in the pool at three months old.
“What I want is for my children to have the same opportunities I had when I was young.
“Lidos might have gone out of fashion in the 1990s, but they have had a full-scale renaissance since.
“The extra money through the ‘levelling up’ fund is vital to support Fusion and enable them to restore this lido.”
Campaigner Sally Wainman said the council grant bid was "a very substantial breakthrough" and hoped there would be a dynamic follow-through.
She said the Government needed to recognise that swimming pools and other leisure facilities are going to need major financial help going forward and escalating energy costs cannot be met from basic footfall.
She said: "We have to see sports and leisure as a necessary investment in the health of the nation: councils used to be proud of their municipal facilities, they didn't expect them to make a profit because these services were recognised as underpinning health and fitness.
"We need to be pro-active rather than re-active: we need to look at prevention rather than cure. The cost of ill-health - obesity, diabetes, heart attacks - far outweighs the cost of subsidising sport."
Broomhill Pool was built in 1938, and is one of 17 grade II listed lidos in the country.
The council owns the lido and charity Fusion Lifestyle has entered into a 50-year lease for the site. Fusion has listed building consent, alongside conditional planning permission for the full restoration and redevelopment.
By 2020, the borough council had put £1.5m into the project, while Fusion Lifestyle had provided both £2m itself and £3.5m through its application to the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Covid then hit, which had a strong impact on Fusion and caused it to need a further £1.8m loan from Ipswich Borough Council for Broomhill Pool.
The recent fuel price increases and inflationary pressures have resulted in the need for another £1.1m, which is what the ‘levelling up’ bid should help with.
Labour councillor and portfolio holder for sport Bryony Rudkin said: “Our bid is poised to deliver a transformation in the way we support Ipswich residents to be active.
“The bid’s goal is to get Ipswich active through much better facilities and bigger activity programmes. This will help us to tackle low levels of activity, high levels of obesity and other health challenges.
“It builds on our long-term commitment to the re-opening of the much loved Broomhill lido by Fusion, as well as our ambitions for our own facilities.”
Alongside the Labour-led council, the ‘levelling up’ bid is backed by Conservative MPs Tom Hunt for Ipswich and Dan Poulter for Suffolk and North Ipswich.
Mr Hunt said: “I am pleased to see the bid submitted, something I know will have real benefits for the town.
“As one of the most inactive towns in England, I think there is a really strong case for this investment in Ipswich’s facilities.
“I will be lobbying ministers and making the case in Westminster for this funding, and giving the bid the best possible chance of success.”
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