PORTISHEAD Lido has said it is “immensely proud” after being awarded a £1.3 million government funding boost.
The Lido, also known as Portishead Open Air Pool, is set to receive the money as part of a national scheme to help rescue and restore “local treasures” across the country.
The government is providing £36m in funding to help preserve and restore 85 “local treasures” across the country including community centres, pubs, parks and sport centres as part of its Community Ownership Fund.
In a statement, Portishead Lido said the funding will help it secure its future and enhance its facilities.
“We are thrilled to announce that we have been awarded a significant grant from the Community Ownership Fund (COF),” it said.
“This generous investment will allow us to continue our mission to secure the future of the Portishead Open Air Pool and the Café Lido for the community in Portishead and the South West of England.
“We also congratulate all our fellow successful bidders and send our support to those who were not successful this time.”
It thanked those involved in the grant application process, including outgoing Trustees Emma Pusill and Andrew Butland, and volunteers Andy Thatcher and Claudia Amos, who put together the application in April 2024.
“We are immensely proud of everyone's hard work and look forward to collaborating with the COF teams to secure the funding and effectively deploy the grant to benefit our community,” it added.
“This substantial grant is aimed at ensuring our future, enabling us to enhance the pool and café for the community.
“It will support our transition from performing limited, ad-hoc repairs to executing an exciting business plan to refurbish and modernize the open-air pool and café, making them more sustainable and ‘fit for the future’.
“While we celebrate this achievement, we recognize that the real work begins now.”
The future of the Lido has been brought into question in recent months, with the threat of parking charges being introduced just outside the community hub on Esplanade Road.
North Somerset Council’s plan to end free parking is a response to growing financial pressures, and it has warned that it needs to find millions of pounds to avoid issuing a section 114 notice and effectively declare bankruptcy.
Barbara Thatcher, a spokesperson for the pool, said the plans will make it difficult for business.
“It’s going to seriously affect our business model because we use volunteers,” she said.
“They aren’t going to pay to park so they can volunteer. They are quite willing to give their time but if they are expected to pay as well, they won’t do it.”
Barbara said there is also the risk that the charges will discourage customers.
“People are already struggling financially, and if they have to pay for parking to come and have a coffee, they might decide to go somewhere else,” she said. “We will definitely lose custom.”
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