Hope for swimming pool reopening

The pool opened in 2003

A rescue package is being put together in a bid to reopen a swimming pool.

Berners pool, in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, was forced to close its doors earlier this month after failing to resolve financial problems.

The organisation which runs the pool said the problems arose from rising energy costs.

Grange hotelier Jim Duncan has co-ordinated a deal to bring together financial support which should see the pool open in the short term.

Mr Duncan said he had taken action because the pool was an important facility for the town.

Funding call

He said: "First and foremost it's almost a brand new pool. It's central for Grange. It caters for all of the people from kiddies right up to elderly people recovering from operations.

"The whole community uses this and it was taking the heart out of the town."

But he called for South Lakeland Council to put funding into the pool to secure its long-term future.

Councillor Peter Thornton, from South Lakeland Council, said: "I think generally anything that enables the pool to reopen in the short term is a good thing."

But he said they had to take a district-wide view on facilities when it came to funding and said the pool at Grange was not essentially a district asset.

But he said they would listen to any proposals made about the pool.

The £3.5m facility opened in 2003 with the help of a grant from Sport England, other organisations and donations.