PROPOSALS to re-open an historic lido have been branded ‘pie in the sky’ by a South Lakeland councillor.

Andrew Gardiner, district representative for Grange North, believes re-opening the town’s outdoor pool will ‘not be sustainable’ and has called for it to be stripped of its Grade II listed status to make it easier to develop.

“It is a wonderful idea to re-open the lido,” he said.

“I like the ideas to re-open it as a cafe or a museum for people to see the history of Grange.

“But to re-open it as a pool is pie in the sky.

“We need to come back down to Earth and think practically about this, or it will crumble and there won’t be anything left to develop.”

The lido, which is located on Grange’s Edwardian promenade, enjoyed its heyday in the 1930s. It was closed in 1993 and was given listed status two years ago, according to Coun Gardiner.

A consultation was held last year where residents voted to have the structure reopened as an outdoor swimming pool.

But Coun Gardiner has called for an investigation to be launched into whether the building can be stripped of its classification so that it can be more easily developed into something else.

“I like to see things happen,” he said. “I raised the question with the council and I’m still waiting for an answer as to whether we’ve left it too long to get it de-listed.”

If the building is de-listed it will not be eligible for English Heritage funding.

But Coun Gardiner added that there has only been ‘one decent summer in the last seven years’ that would merit an outdoor pool.

“There have been some great ideas proposed so we need to be looking at those,” he added.