I HAVE been very glad to see supporting letters in the Echo over the past week for a swimming pool at Pier Approach central Bournemouth. And glad on Monday to see the Echo include a photo of Twynam School open air swimming pool from 1963.

There are some 50 open air lidos in the UK. In recent decades there has been a considerable resurgence with local authority and sponsored funding. Most notable Saltdean lido in Brighton with a recent £2million investment and similarly Jubilee lido in Penzance, and also Sandford Park in Cheltenham, Rockwell and Tooting Bec lidos in south London, and Tineside lido in Plymouth.

These are all great lidos, Brighton and Penzance spectacular with sea-views, and Tooting Bec a 50metre lido. All are open all year round. Some are heated, some are not.

So I think there is a more than compelling case Bournemouth council should take this proposal seriously.

And to take on some comments from the Echo web-pages. A swimming pool is very different from swimming in the sea. The swimming pool can be year-round, can be heated, and may use fresh water rather than sea water. Also the provision for changing rooms, and a managed pool is safer.

As for Littledown which Cllr Beesley mentions, the point is councillor that is three miles out of town. The point is to have a central pool easily accessible to everyone. An indoor Olympic pool might be beyond budgets but surely an outdoor pool, using the water feature already included in current proposals, is doable? And if done will surely will be a huge attraction for the town for decades to come.

STUART MARSHALL, Alexandra Road, Parkstone