A COMMUNITY group hoping to revive one of Abergavenny's much-loved former attractions is seeking support to take the project to the next stage.

Abergavenny Lido Group wants to build a new outdoor swimming pool in the town's Bailey Park, more than 20 years after the original pool was closed and subsequently filled in.

Since the idea was first made public, the group has enjoyed support from the public – a petition calling for a new lido received more than 1,000 signatures – as well as the town council and local authority.

"The lido would be good for health, good for business, and a lovely tourist attraction," Lido Group member George Foster said. "[The old pool] was well used, and well loved. It would be great to get that back."

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The Lido Group's committee is now preparing to begin a feasibility study to agree the project's costs. This study would need to be presented to Monmouthshire County Council if the group were to take its proposals to the next stage.

The committee has been tasked with fundraising to pay for the study, and has set up a crowdfunding page where donations can be made.

But the Lido Group needs more than financial support.

"We're calling out for anyone with expertise in things like fundraising, or surveying, or who has had experience doing feasibility studies," Mr Foster said. "We'd love to hear from them."

The original outdoor swimming pool in Abergavenny was opened in Bailey Park in 1938 and proved popular during summer months, while in winter it was used by schools.

Volunteers and the town council kept the project going after it was closed by the former Monmouth Borough Council, but the pool eventually closed in 1996 and was filled in.

If the Abergavenny Lido Group is successful, it plans to build a new swimming pool on the same site as the old lido.

To find out more about the Lido Group, visit www.abergavennylidogroup.co.uk and to donate to the group's crowdfunding project, visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/abergavenny-lido