THE campaign to keep the Beccles open-air swimming pool available to the public continues to gain momentum - and fundraising events are being held to back it.

THE campaign to keep the Beccles open-air swimming pool available to the public continues to gain momentum - and fundraising events are being held to back it.

The Friends of Beccles Open Air Swimming Pool (FoBOASP) are holding monthly coffee mornings at the Friends Meeting House in Beccles to raise funds for the pool. The next coffee morning is on Thursday, February 19 between 10am and noon.

A fundraising dance with the David Drain Band is being held at Kings Head Hotel in Beccles on Saturday 7 March from 7.45pm to 11pm. Tickets are �7 and are available from the Gazette Bookshop in Beccles. Tel 01502 712688.

A lottery will shortly be set up with a monthly cash prize draw. Experience from Chipping Norton Lido in Oxfordshire has shown this to be an important and regular source of funds. Chipping Norton Lido has many parallels with Beccles Lido and has been an inspiration to the directors of Beccles Lido Limited and to the Friends of Beccles Open Air Swimming Pool.

Maureen Saunders, director of Beccles Lido Limited said: “These relatively minor fundraising events are really significant when brought together and are an important strand in the business plan that we have developed for Beccles Lido. We are very grateful to FoBOASP for their continued support.”

Beccles Lido has also been approached by local business VC Cooke, who have offered to provide a wheelie bin service for the pool free of charge. Maureen Saunders adds: “This is another important offer of support from the local community. We are very grateful to VC Cooke for this generous offer.”

Beccles Town Council will decide on their level of support for Beccles Lido during the next few weeks. A final decision by Waveney District Council on the future of the open-air pool will be made at a meeting of the Council's Cabinet on April 2.

Beccles Lido Limited, seeking to take on the management of the pool, is being incorporated at Companies House this week and will initially have three directors, Shaun Crowley, Maureen Saunders and Suzanne Gibbons.