Ilkley Lido is expected to open for swimming next week

Bradford Council would not normally open the Lido at this time of year as the weather is now turning much cooler, however the pool has to be filled with water in order to do the commissioning and testing.

The Lido has undergone £1.4 million of refurbishment works along with improvements to the filtration system.

The work to repair the 80 year old Lido was much more extensive than had been anticipated and took longer than expected.

Cllr Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “We know how well loved Ilkley Lido is by local people and visitors. We recognise people may have been frustrated by the closure of Ilkley Lido but it was necessary work and we are thrilled that this is now complete and we are able to reopen even for a short period at the end of this season.”

Speaking about the news that the lido is now due to finally reopen Councillor Kyle  Green (Con, Ilkley) commented: “I am delighted that the lido is finally back ready to be opened. 

"This process has been a farcical one as it was November 2020 when this work was first announced. While I can accept there were complications, these simply should have been identified and resolved earlier and it shouldn’t have taken this long to sort - especially as the lido isn’t used all year round.

"I sincerely hope we now see more investment in one of the treasures of Ilkley to avoid a repeat of this kind of situation and that we finally see the lido pavilion brought into use given it currently sits as an empty shell of a building.

"For now though I’m looking forward to hopefully taking what is likely to be a chilly dip before they close again until next spring.”