A crowdfunding campaign has been launched to create the UK’s highest-altitude lido from a natural pool in the Yorkshire moors.
Local swimmers are hoping to raise £65,000 to buy the 2.8-hectare (7-acre) site of the former Thornton Moor water treatment works near Oxenhope, a small village close to Haworth, which was once home to the Brontë sisters.
They hope to turn the land into Yorkshire Swim Works, a chemical-free naturally filtered swimming pool with a sauna, community space and eco-lodges.
Backed by Bradford council and a grant from the government, the not-for-profit organisation hopes to provide a new outdoor swimming destination at a time when access to swimming pools in the UK is dwindling.
The proposed pool would be open all year round and unheated, with water temperatures likely to range from zero to 25C.
Naturally filtered pools are common in Germany, Scandinavia, France and Austria, where plants and a mineral bed cleanse the water of harmful bacteria, making it suitable for outdoor bathing.
The former water-purifying site is being auctioned in July with a guide price of £110,000 by Kelda group, a sister company of Yorkshire Water that is owned by a handful of asset managers from outside the UK, including Singapore, the US, Germany and Australia.
Caroline Kindy, the founder of Yorkshire Swim Works, said it was a unique opportunity to bring “a landmark community project” to the area.
She said: “We see the Yorkshire Swim Works as much more than a safe outdoor swimming destination. We see it as a hub for everyone to enjoy all outdoor activities – hiking, running, cycling and walking, with biodiversity and Stem learning opportunities.”
Robbie Moore, the MP for Keighley, said the site would “serve as a fantastic cultural asset, attracting tourists and swimmers alike and providing a boost to our local economy – all whilst being permanently owned by the community”.
He added: “I urge everyone to join Yorkshire Swim Works’ crowdfunding campaign and contribute towards this fantastic local project in the beautiful surrounds of the Worth Valley.”
The county of West Yorkshire has only one lido for 2.3 million people, in the spa town of Ilkley. A project to regenerate a 100-year-old derelict outdoor pool in nearby Otley is also currently under way, which will provide a heated outdoor pool with a retractable roof after locals successfully raised £60,000 through a similar crowdfunder.
Councils too are reinvesting in swimming facilities as the benefits of outdoor swimming to mental and physical health become better known.
Hull city council is spending £10.5m to renovate its inner-city lido, and Ilford council in east London recently announced plans to build a new outdoor pool in Valentines Park as part of an £11m development.
In Cumbria, South Lakes council is working with community activists to reopen Grange lido in Grange-over-Sands, by Morecambe Bay.
This comes after Guardian analysis earlier this year of data collected by Sport England found a net decline of 382 swimming pools across the country since 2010. These figures include local authority- and community-owned pools, privately run health facilities, schools and sports clubs. The loss of pools has led to an estimated £1bn loss of associated social value through health and community benefits.
The figures showed more health-deprived areas suffered the biggest losses, dropping by 14%, compared with 6% in the least deprived areas.
