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Britain's oldest lido could be at risk of closing forever after a catastrophic restoration project. Cleveland Pools Trust (CPT) spent twenty years campaigning to revamp the 200-year-old Lido, located in Bath. After multiple setbacks and £9.3 million of public funds being invested in the pools, their reopening in September 2023 was accompanied by excitement.

However, local residents were left confused after the Lido was forced to close down just four months after the 'waterproof' and 'floodproof' plant room flooded in a storm, suffering structural damage.

Cleveland Pools initially opened as a river-fed pool in 1815, serving the public for over 160 years before closing in 1984. In 2003, the council put the site up for sale, and it was listed on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk Register.

Locals Ann Dunlop, Janice Dreisbach and Roger Houghton then formed the CPT in 2004 in hopes of saving the pools, and after a long campaign to raise money from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), local donors and Bath and North East Somerset Council, Cleveland Pools reopened for the first time in 40 years.

However, today, the once thriving spot is filled with stagnant water and leaves. Just last month, the Trust published its report on Companies House admitting that it "might not be possible" to ever reopen the pool.

The news has left locals furious, with one describing the regeneration plan as a "scandalous waste of money". Another said: "How can you possibly build a swimming pool that fails when it fills with water? That defies belief," reports the Daily Mail.

However, for those living close to the pool's ground, the failing outcomes don't come as quite the surprise, with many claiming that they knew it would happen.

Neighbouring residents revealed that they spent years trying to prevent the restoration from happening, warning about the frequent flooding that occurs, and offering alternative ideas, including an unheated wild swimming lido, a park, or building a new lido in a less risky area.

However, the neighbours say they were constantly "shut down" and "robbed off" for the sake of a "middle-class Disneyland" project to be brought forth.

A spokesperson from The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: "Having given a significant grant to this historic lido, which opened in 2023, we understand the frustration and disappointment faced by local people about the closure of Cleveland Pools and subsequent delays in reopening.

"As part of our responsibility to ensure accountability, effectiveness and efficient use of public funds, we are meeting regularly with the Cleveland Pools Trust as they work towards a solution."