A STEERING committee will be launched in a bid to open Lymington’s sea water lido in time for the school summer holidays.

The idea was mooted by mayor Cllr Jan Hawker at the end of a sometimes stormy meeting of the town council amenities committee and eagerly taken up by councillors and protesters, concerned about the future of the pool.

Though the constitution of the committee has yet to be agreed, it will include Cynthia Covey, who has been collecting signatures on a petition to get the pool opened this year and Mary Smith, who needs to swim to help her control multiple sclerosis.

Mrs Covey implored the council to re-open it this summer. Mrs Smith said the number of people backing the re-opening of the open air baths on Facebook had risen by 100 to 344.

The pool needs to be advertised more, she said, and its appearance needed to be improved.

“It does not look terribly inviting. If you did something about the appearance of it, it would attract more people,” she added.

Locum town clerk Malcolm Leatherdale said the pool made a loss of between £45,000 and £50,000 last year – that was a £10 subsidy for every swim taken.

It was closed on health and safety grounds which included a dangerous handrail and boards missing in the fence.

The accident book was filled with “page after page of people who had cut their feet or stubbed their toes on various sharp edges”, he said.

Re-elected committee chairman Cllr Paul Hickman said he was committed to the future of the baths though there is no guarantee it will open this summer.

He and Mr Leatherdale said the rowing club wanted to move to the swimming baths and there was a possibility the sailing club could use it as a dinghy park during the winter.