Grange Town Council officially handed over a promised £12,000 this week towards the town's state-of-the-art swimming pool and leisure complex.

Outgoing mayor Coun Michael Fieldhouse said it gave him great pleasure to pass on the money, much of which comes from the sale of the land at Yewbarrow Lodge more than a decade ago.

Norman Derby, of Grange, accepted the cheque as chairman of the pool campaign group, the Cartmel Peninsular Recreational Trust, which won a £2.5 million National Lottery grant last year after having to prove that they could realise £803,000 in promises or donations.

The £3.3 million facility is set to open in December, and it is anticipated that in its first full year of opening there will be 60,000 swims, and more than 100,000 visitors.

Mr Derby told the annual meeting of Grange Town Council, in the Victoria Hall, on Monday: "Thank you and the town council and all the people of Grange for this £12,000.

As you can just see now, the pool is starting to come out of the ground.

"Virtually every time I have gone past, there is somebody standing there watching it, which gives some idea of the interest of everyone."

He went on to say that it was the hope of the trust that the complex would not just be a place for people to swim, but that it would be considered a community facility with the meeting rooms, caf and kitchens all utilised.

Of the effort to raise the money required, he thanked South Lakeland District Council, Cumbria County Council, Grange Town Council, supportive parish councils and the amateur swimming club.

Singling out the residents of the area, Mr Derby said the trust had received in order of a thousand individual donations, and that there were 450 or so founder members of the pool, whose names would take pride of place in the building.

"It's absolutely amazing, we have had backing from virtually everyone and we are overwhelmed by it.

If you look at the size of the community, there are about 15,500 people here and 8,500 houses - that includes Grange and the surrounding areas.

"For that amount of money to be raised by that size of a community is absolutely fantastic, and that is the main reason we got the grant."

Coun Fieldhouse explained how town benefactor Lt Col Austin Townsend Porritt, who lived at Yewbarrow Lodge, used his skills and influence to raise funds to build the Grange Sea Water Bathing Pool, which was opened in 1932, until it closed in 1993.

Coun Fieldhouse said the shell of his former home - bombed out during the Second World War - was gifted to Grange council and the land was bought in 1991 by SLDC for £7,000.

The money was then 'ring fenced' for a "future capital project for the benefit of citizens of Grange-over-Sands."

He said: "The £7,000 was invested and the preferred project became a new swimming pool for Grange.

I am sure that Col Porritt would have approved."

Mr Derby said an opening date of December 14 has been set for the new facility, which will include a four-lane pool, toddlers' pool, fitness suite, gymnasium with health suite, steam room, sauna, shop with caf/bar and multi-purpose rooms.