COUNCIL chiefs have finally set a date for the long-awaited reopening of a Hampshire lido.

The controversial closure of Lymington Sea Water Baths is due to end on May 29 – the first day of the bank holiday weekend.

Admission prices for the summer have been halved in a bid to ensure the newly refurbished facility attracts large crowds.

Children will be charged just £1 to use the open-air facility, which overlooks the Solent and the entrance to Lymington River.

The baths are normally open between May and September but remained closed last summer after failing health and safety checks.

Hundreds of people signed a petition urging Lymington and Pennington Town Council to reopen the 90-metre pool – thought to be the largest facility of its type on the south coast.

The council is spending at least £8,000 on repairs to the 176-year-old site.

Paul Hickman, chairman of the amenities committee, said: “The work is going very well. The showers and toilets have been refurbished, the cracks in the pool basin have been repaired and the weeds removed.”

A new group, Friends of Lymington Sea Water Baths, has been launched by Cynthia Covey and her son Patrick, who raised the petition.

The chairman is Lymington county councillor Adrian Evans, who was only ten when he taught himself to swim in the pool.

He joined the Tadpole Water Polo Team and went on to play in senior matches across the country.

“The baths are part of our local heritage. They remain a very important recreational facility for local people and summer tourists,” he said.