Kenilworth Lido Campaign Group will deliver more than 100 Christmas cards to the council to express 'people's wish' to keep outdoor swimming pool in the town

Kenilworth Lido Campaign Group is set to send around 130 Christmas postcards to Warwick District Council (WDC) to express 'people's wish' to keep an outdoor swimming pool in the town.

The group has been running a Christmas Wish for Outdoor Swimming initiative at the town's festive market over the last two weekends where people could fill out the postcards to say why they believe the lido at Abbey Fields should not be demolished to make way for a second indoor pool under the council's redevelopment plans.

Most comments left related to the health and tourism benefits that such a facility should bring.

The cards will be delivered to Councillor Liam Bartlett, who is WDC's portfolio holder for culture, tourism and leisure in the hope he takes notice of the strength of feeling in Kenilworth before the bulldozers are allowed to move in.

The initiative culminated last Saturday (December 18) with a procession from Talisman Square to the Abbey Fields pool complex and back, gathering more completed cards on the way.

A group spokesperson said that members of the public expressed their support of the action taken on the day that the pool finally closed and indeed some motorists sounded their horns in return for a wave.

The campaign group has indicated that it will continue to fight for a safe outdoor swimming facility alongside the indoor pool in Abbey Fields.

The spokesman said: "If, after over 125 years, the outdoor pool is lost, particularly at a time when there has been a resurgence of lidos in the UK and the health benefits of swimming outside are more widely understood, we believe history will not look favourably on this council."

The postcards can still be picked up from and left completed at Kenilworth Books in the run up to Christmas and the New Year.

Of WDC's plans, Cllr Bartlett has said: “We are really excited about the stunning new sports facilities we are planning for Kenilworth.

“Our innovative plans, with a sun-deck area and café have been sympathetically designed and with the new indoor family pool we firmly believe that we are offering the very best options to serve the town for many generations to come.”