Otley lido: Triathlete Alistair Brownlee backs reopening plans

An Olympic gold medallist has thrown his weight behind a campaign to reopen a derelict lido where he used to go swimming as a child.

Triathlon champion Alistair Brownlee is supporting redevelopment of the derelict site in Otley into a heated lido with a retractable roof.

An online funding campaign must reach an initial £53,000 target by Monday.

Brownlee said: "It will be a really wonderful thing if [the lido] could be rejuvenated."

The athlete said he had a "really clear memory" of swimming at the venue after been taking there by his mother and other relatives.

"I remember playing around in the small part of the pool, I must have been very young as I was born in 1988 and it was closed in 1993," he said.

The Friends of Otley Lido said it was still about £3,000 short of the initial target to get the project to the next planning phase.

The lido closed in 1993 and became a leisure venue for several years before gradually declining and closing to the public.

It was estimated in 2016 that plans to transform it into a working lido with heated pool, retraqctable roof, gym and restaurant, would cost in the region of £5m.

Ian Lawson, of the group, said despite the pool being filled in you could still see its shape but the site was "pretty overgrown".

The waiting list for swimming lessons in Otley was up to three years, reflecting a national trend, so a new facility would "really galvanise the community", he added.

The group has secured a 125-year lease rent-free from Leeds City Council for the site in Wharfemeadows Park.

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