Last week’s decision by Teignbridge District Council’s Executive Committee to close the town’s Lido this summer has been ‘called in’ for review.

The District Council’s overview and scrutiny committee will revisit the decision at a special meeting scheduled for Tuesday March 3.

One of the councillors who requested the call-in, councillor Andrew MacGregor, said the decision to close this summer was ‘hamstringing the community group’ that is hoping to place a bid to operate the facility.

He pointed out that the decision to close was also denying Teignmouth the opportunity to celebrate a significant anniversary. Teignmouth Lido, which opened in 1976, turns 50 this year.

He pointed out that Teignmouth has missed out on two milestone celebrations in recent years with the 200th anniversary of the Templar Way in 2020 being blighted by Covid restrictions and the 100th anniversary of the Morgan Giles shipyard in 2021 another missed opportunity.

‘To fail to deliver an anniversary event when the last two anniversaries went begging is incredibly disappointing,’ councillor MacGregor said.

Teignmouth Lido Community Trust welcomed the move to review the decision. The group has received backing of Newton Abbot MP Martin Wrigley who said he was impressed by the group’s can-do’ attitude.

Several Teignmouth town councillors are campaigning for the Town Council to bid for ownership of the site so it can become a ‘custodian’ of the site, enabling a community group to run the outdoor pool. However, the subject has not yet been formally discussed within the Town Council.

To rectify this, Teignmouth Lido Community Trust served a petition to Teignmouth Town Council’s clerk this morning (Monday February 16) requesting that the Town Council hold an extraordinary meeting as a matter of urgency. The Save the Lido petition asks Teignmouth Town Council to enter into immediate negotiations with Teignbridge ‘to obtain a licence for the ownership of Teignmouth Lido’ and asking the town council to work with the community group so it can the Lido this summer.