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Is building a swimming pool in Wales a viable commercial proposition after Pontypridd Lido?

Campaigners in Abergavenny are the latest to try to bring back their much-loved outdoor pool.

But why did so many communities once have what is now a rare facility?

As far back as the 1850s, newspaper reports from Wrexham to the Rhondda tell of campaigns for outdoor swimming baths.

Cardiff’s Guildford Crescent is believed to be the site of the first of 50 open air pools in Wales.

A roof was later built over it before it was bought by the local authority – and known as the “Corporation Baths”.

A new lido in Pontypridd has broken the mould in recent years

The Lido in Pontypridd was reopened in 2015 after decades of planning and millions in charitable grants.

Dr Leeworthy catalogued more than 50 outdoor baths across Wales as part of his research into outdoor recreation facilities – he says there is a lesson to be learned from the only outdoor pool still open in Wales.

“There’s a lesson of patience… the future in the long term of sites like this is really that against times of hardship people focus on things that can transform their communities for the longer term,” he said.

For more on this story visit the BBC online website

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