Abandoned English lido to FINALLY start £6.8million restoration with plans to reopen this summer
WORK is set to restart on a disused lido in Cumbria – two years after it was originally set to reopen.
The Grade-II listed lido in Grange-over-Sands has been closed since 1993, but could welcome back locals as soon as this summer.
The pool on the promenade in Grange-over-Sands first opened in 1932 and is the only surviving seaside lido in the north of England.
In 1993 the lido closed because of low usage and rising repair costs.
Work then began in 2023 with £6.8million worth of funding to restore the site with an initial opening timeframe of just 14 months.
The opening date was delayed but work continued – during this time there was an upgrade to the pavilion building and an accessible entrance from the promenade was created.
The changing rooms have been upgraded, and work to the roof and terraces has been completed, so have security upgrades, cleaning, and decoration.
A new play area on-site has already been built and work to the diving board has been completed.
However, work was paused in May 2025 after problems with concrete at the site were discovered.
Now, it’s set to restart in April 2026, with Westmorland and Furness Council saying it hopes the site will be open at the end of this summer.
In its initial opening, it won’t be used as a lido.
There is a temporary infill of the pool and the site will be used as a public space before phase two of the restoration begins.
On the Save Grange Lido website, it explains: “There’s to be a 25m 6 lane pool with a depth of 1.35m which can be used for County Level competition and training, a smaller, shallower 13m pool (0.9m deep) and a paddling pool or splash pad.”
Locals have been vocal in wanting the outdoor lido to reopen for swimming.
In 2011, the lido was granted Grade-II listed status and in the same year, the Save Grange Lido group was formed.
18,000 people signed a petition calling on the council to include the reopening of the pool in any plans to restore the lido site.
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