An Ipswich man who has campaigned for 20 years to bring back Ipswich's open-air pool said he wants to reinstate the town’s happy place – and YOU could help him do so.
This is the final week readers will be able to collect tokens for Cash for Charity, an initiative inviting them to nominate local charities to receive a share of £16,000.
Mark Ling is the chairman of the Broomhill Pool Trust, a charity which has been campaigning tirelessly to restore the Grade II pool in Sherrington Road to its former glory.
Broomhill Lido first opened in 1938. At 15ft deep, it was the deepest outdoor pool in Britain, and thousands of people in the town would flock to it each day.
Sadly, a lack of investment and a reduction in its opening hours meant that fewer and fewer swimmers flocked to the pool in later years until it eventually closed in 2002.
However, Mark said that his group believe the pool could once again be one of the town’s great assets.
He has great memories of it in its heyday.
“It was Ipswich’s happiest place,” he said. Having been born opposite the pool, it figures prominently in his childhood memories.
“I was floating around in the baby pool from the age of three months,” he said.
“It was a great place for everyone, a real social melting pot. Everyone was welcome.
“There was a 700-seat grandstand, where grandparents and spectators would be.
“There were these fantastic sun terraces where you would be towel to towel, and bake there in the summer.
"It was the deepest outdoor pool in the country, and it had the highest outdoor diving boards.
“It was a real suntrap, and a happy place to be.”
The Broomhill Lido Trust has been campaigning for the pool to be renovated and reopened for 20 years.
Mark said that a share of the Cash for Charity pot will help the charity to keep working with stakeholders, and campaigning for funding.
It is currently waiting to hear whether it has been successful for a grant from the Levelling Up Fund.
“If we can just get it across the line, it will be such a boom for Ipswich,” said Mark.
“We’ll have one of the finest pools in Britain, right here in Ipswich.”
The Broomhill Trust is one of 10 charities across Suffolk and Norfolk that readers can collect tokens for and help them win a share of £16,0000 from the charitable arm of Newsquest Media Group’s parent company, the Gannett Foundation.
The full list includes GoStart Community Transport, Footsteps Walking With You, Jetty Lane CIO, Winston's Wheels, UK Norwich, Dereham Meeting Point, the 1st Attleborough (St Mary's) Scout Group and North Walsham Play vying for votes, as well as Topcats.
Tokens found in the Ipswich Star and East Anglian Daily Times can be taken to Cash for Charity collection boxes at local supermarkets, newsagents and other prominent locations in the area, or by sending to Prospect House, Rouen Road, Norwich, NR1 1RE.
The last tokens should arrive ahead of Sunday, November 20.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here