A LIDO in Newbury will remain closed for the 2020 summer season despite the government allowing outdoor pools to reopen.

Northcroft Lido will remain closed to the public West Berkshire Council and Legacy Leisure have announced.

The government announced that outdoor pools could reopen from Saturday (July 11) but repairs to the lido before it can reopen have been delayed by Covid-19.

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Each year West Berkshire Council has to wait for groundwater levels to fall to allow the pool to be emptied without risk to the structure and before any decisions can be made on repairs required to open the lido safely.

The council explained this year ground water levels did not fall sufficiently until early June to allow the pool to be emptied without that risk.

Due to Covid-19, specialist contractors would not be available to carry out the work until August.

The council explained the work would take two to three weeks to complete, then a full ten days is required to fill the pool.

Since the current contract allows the Lido to remain open until the first weekend in September, it said the opportunity to open in 2020 is very limited.

In addition, guidance for swimming has been developed around social distancing, but natural bottle necks will occur, for example, in changing rooms and at access points to the outdoor area.

Howard Woollaston, Executive Member for Health and Community Wellbeing, Leisure and Culture, said: “Northcroft Lido is an incredibly popular destination in the hot summer months and we’re as disappointed as anyone not to be able to open it this year.

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"For fitness and fun, it’s something residents love and if there was a way we could have opened it we would have done.

"Unfortunately we have been delayed by Covid-19 and time is now against us in opening.

"I hope residents will understand the unique circumstances this year and we look forward to welcoming everyone back to the lido in 2021.”

The council and Legacy Leisure have agreed not to open the Lido this year but work to achieve maximum availability of the leisure centres as quickly and as safely as possible and focus on the Lido being ready for the 2021 season.

Details of how Legacy Leisure will re-open the leisure centres and when new activity is available will be made available at www.leisurecentre.com.