THING OF THE WEEK

LAKELAND LIDO… Swimming in a lido is the pinnacle of 1920s chic. It just looks so cool. However, there is a distinct lack of outdoor swimming facilities in the UK. A trip for an alfresco dip at your nearest lido could take a couple of hours. However, there is good news for lido enthusiasts coming out of South Lakeland this week. The Lake District may have its fair share of natural lagoons but that hasn’t dampened the local council’s desire to reopen Grange Lido for the first time in a quarter of a century. The grade two-listed facility, believed to be the earliest example of a 20th Century seawater lido, needs to be restored. So far £6.6m has been raised to do just that. Last one in the pool is a rotten egg.  

The future of Longtown is bright and squiggly. Credit: via Carlisle City Council

LONGTOWN, SHORT PEOPLE… Schoolchildren in Cumbria’s Longtown have been having their say on how the town should look in the future. What could possibly go wrong? The Longtown Place Plan, which is in the process of being drawn up, will guide future development in the town and pupils in years three, four and five of Longtown Primary School were given a chance to put forward their ideas. When consulting on a framework such as this, the importance of gathering a broad range of opinions and views from multiple demographics is always emphasised. But why bother asking anyone else when fun centres, sweet shops, and a McDonald’s have already been proposed? Longtown is clearly in safe hands. 

Not sure what to say. Thank you, Thank you for picking us back up. Thank you to the local community in Churton. Thank you to all the teams in Elite & thank you to our community… you lot.
I messed up in business this year and you lot gave us the opportunity here to put it right🙏 pic.twitter.com/musDmUNQ4x

— The White Horse Pub (@TheWhiteHorsePu) November 2, 2022

FOOD FUND… Chef-restauranter and founder of Elite Bistros Gary Usher has long harboured a dream of opening a country pub and recently bought the White Horse in the Cheshire village of Churton. This week, he set up a kickstarter page in a bid to raise the £200,000 required to open the pub. The fact it took less than 24 hours to hit the target is a testament to the popularity of Usher’s other ventures, which include Sticky Walnut, Kala and Hispi. We can’t wait to see what he comes up with in Churton. Is anyone else hungry? 

Rendering of what the outdoor space may look like. Credit: LDA Design

FLYING THE FLAG… We have established that people like swimming and people like food. But which do they like more? Gary Usher’s fundraising heroics, when compared to a similar initiative being run to raise cash to create an outdoor community area at Flag Lane Baths in Crewe, demonstrate an apparent gulf in Cheshire’s affections. A crowdfunding pot set up a month ago to raise £25,000 for the project has so far raised less than £700. You can add to that fund if you feel the urge. 

#News: A major milestone at the development zone next to Festival Gardens has been reached with final load of waste removed.
That's more than 400,000 m3 processed by @VCUK_Building, with 95% recycled!

The council is to seek a new developer in early 2023 https://t.co/vKjsqN2gOU pic.twitter.com/iE7r7hHZYS

— Liverpool City Council (@lpoolcouncil) November 3, 2022

DIRTY WORK… Vinci Construction has removed more than 400,000 cubic metres of waste from Festival Gardens as remediation of the site progresses. That is enough to fill 160 Olympic-sized swimming pools, which gives an indication of how much work has gone into preparing the site for its eventual redevelopment. Perhaps even more impressive than the sheer volume of dirt removed is the fact that 95% of it has been recycled.