A community group is hoping to raise £55,000 in just a few weeks to help with a push to re-open their town’s Lido.

Otley pool has been closed since 1993, but a group formed last year, Friends of Otley Lido, hope to restore the facility and return it to its former glories.

The group has been working for much of 2016 on plans to re-open the pool, and officially launched their latest fundraising campaign at the annual New Year’s Day swim in the River Wharfe, just a short distance from the former lido in Wharfemeadows Park.

They also just opened a crowdfunding page, and it is open for people to make donations until February 14.

The group says: “This might seem like an enormous amount, but Peckham Lido in a similar position raised £63,000 a week shy of their target.”

The money will go towards studies and a business plan needed to attract funding from groups such as the National Lottery and Sports England.

They will include architectural drawings of what the lido will look like, assessments of flooding risks, traffic and environmental impacts.

The group says the lido “now stands scruffy and derelict in the otherwise attractive riverside park.

“We plan to reopen the pool, offering an amazing year round facility, to become the focal heart of the wider community.

“The pool will be heated and open all year, with a retractable roof.”

The re-opening is expected to cost around £5 million.

Members were at Sunday’s swim, handing out flyers promoting their campaign and hot drinks to swimmers in return for donations.

Leonie Sharp, chair of the group, said: “This would help bring the benefits of swimming back to the community.

“We need to raise £55,000 for a specialist business study, and once we’ve got that we can get out and try to attract the big funding.”

The lido opened in 1924, and was a major attraction drawing people to the town. The site is currently owned by Leeds City Council.

For more information visit otleylido.com and to donate on the crowdfunding page visit https://goo.gl/7rTDyN

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