VOLUNTEERS were celebrating after scooping £40,000 from the Government to help with the upkeep of Brightlingsea Lido.

The lido, in Promenade Way, was under threat of closure for three years as there was no budget to maintain it.

However, last year the outdoor pool, which was owned by Tendring Council, was handed down as an asset to Brightlingsea Town Council following a series of talks to save it.

It has become a community project, which has proven to be a huge hit with residents in the town and further afield.

The team which runs the lido is now celebrating after being awarded £46,250 from the Government’s Coastal Revival Fund, which supports restoration of historic buildings and coastal assets.

The post said: “The grant will be used to refurbish the antiquated plant room, which is a hidden but essential element of our lido, to help to secure it for future generations.

“This means we’ll be able to invest in purpose-built equipment for filtering, dosing and cleaning our water and we may not need to build our own pool vacuums in the future.”

A total of 23 coastal projects received a share of nearly £1 million from the Coastal Revival Fund.

Mick Barry, Brightlingsea town councillor overseeing the project, commended the team who put together the funding application.

He said: “The idea is to give the main filters a complete overhaul as they are about 40 years old. We need to empty everything and fill it all up again, it’s quite an expensive process.

“We are going to reconfigure the pipework to accommodate a more efficient pump that will use less energy.

“We are also looking to get semi-automatic doors which release the chemicals, but also reduce the amount of chemicals we use by using an electrolysis system or a salt water feed.

“The aim is to make it as environmentally friendly as possible.”

The town council had saved about £20,000 of its own reserves for the upgrades, but Mick said this extra funding would mean the works could be carried out to a higher standard.

He said: “We want to get it all prepared for further development in 2020, we want to be able to provide heating to increase its usage.

“We are also working on development of the smaller pool and an extension to the cafe kiosk.”

Essex’s only remaining outdoor lido reached full capacity within 90 minutes of opening in the summer. About 300 swimmers turned up to enjoy a splash in the renovated pool.