An expert on outdoor swimming pools has said if Warwick District Council cannot make the lido profitable than the problem lies with them, not with the outdoor pool.

Emma Pusill, co-author of 'The Lido Guide' has raised objections to WDC's proposed reconstruction of the Abbey Fields Leisure centre, specifically the lido.

In her comment on the application website she said: "I am aware that one of the key drivers for this proposed redevelopment is that the current operator of the site report that they cannot operate the outdoor pool profitably. There is a popular misconception that it is not possible to operate an outdoor pool profitably.

"This is simply not true and many pools up and down the country do cover their costs and make enough profit to hold reserves against future maintenance.

"If this operator cannot run the site successfully the problem does not lie with the outdoor pool, it lies with the operator.

"Rather than allowing that operator to destroy Kenilworth's unique heritage asset because it does not fit their standardised operating model a responsible council would seek another operator.

"Replacing two pool with another two adds little public benefit. It does not increase capacity - the operator could run the outdoor pool year round if it chose to,there are a number of successful year round lidos in the UK, most of them heated."

She also focused on the objections raised by Historic England, stating the important heritage contained within Abbey Fields.

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"I note that Historic England have raised an objection. They focus, understandably, on the nearby ancient monument. There is more heritage than that associated with this site; it is where Roger Deakin author of the seminal work Waterlog, learned to swim. This has significance across the swimming sector.

"Furthermore, outdoor pools widen access; they are used by people who would not wish to swim indoors and feel intimidated by those spaces.

"At a time when the physical and mental health of the nation has never been more important WDC should be protecting this access, not seeking to narrow it by being swept along with the operators blinkered approach to running the site."