Plans for the UK’s highest outdoor swimming pool are being drawn up to be built on top of moorland an hour and a half drive from Manchester.
The pool would sit at 378 metres (1,240ft) above sea level – making it the highest lido in the country.
Completely chemical-free, it would be open all year round and also feature a poolside sauna for hardy winter swimmers to warm up in when temperatures in the lido hit zero.
During lockdown, outdoor swimming saw a huge boon as people looked for different ways to enjoy the outdoors amidst tough restrictions on personal freedoms and indoor mixing between households.
Many took to wild swimming for the first time and fell in love, spawning a large number of outdoor swimming groups and online networks designed to connect adventurers with the best sites.
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Now, it has emerged that a keen swimmer has been drawing up plans to build the UK’s highest altitude lido on the top of moorland in West Yorkshire, reports The Hoot.
Whilst planning is still in the early stages, current suggestions for the location of the new lido include Oxenhope, a small village close to Haworth that was once home to the famous Bronte sisters.
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According to reports, the team behind the project has their sights set on a 7-acre site near Thornton Moor reservoir that was formerly used as a water treatment plant.
Described as “an accessible, safe, natural outdoor swimming destination for everyone”, the lido would make history as one of the first naturally-filtered public swimming pools in the country.
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The pool, if built, would remain open all year round, with a poolside sauna on hand for hardy winter swimmers to warm up in when temperatures hit zero.
Current plans also include an eco-lodge, allowing visitors to stay and make a holiday out of their visit to the lido.
Caroline Kindy, the brains behind the project, said on its website: “The Yorkshire Swim Works was conceived during a lockdown quest to find amazing and safe places to swim outdoors. The idea was shared with a group of expansive thinkers and has grown into a project with real potential”.
She continues: “The Yorkshire Swim Works is a new, ambitious and exciting project. The ultimate aim is to offer an all-year-round opportunity for people to connect with nature in a wonderful place to swim outdoors, take a soothing sauna, and stay in a contemporary eco-lodge.”
The project has recently received a grant from Bradford Council, home to the city of culture 2025, to explore the viability of the project.
Sarah Ferriby, Bradford council’s lead for healthy people and places, said: “We are thrilled to support the Yorkshire Swimming Works. Bradford is a district that is two-thirds rural with some of the most stunning countryside in the UK, from Ilkley Moor to Brontë country in Haworth. A project like this is perfect for Bradford right now and has the potential to become another unique attraction for our diverse district.”
Police officer who sexually assaulted a child while on duty sacked
Daisy Jackson
A ‘morally reprehensible’ police officer who sexually assaulted a child while on duty has been sacked and barred from service.
GMP held an accelerated misconduct hearing with PC Dean Dempster, 35, and he has been dismissed without notice.
The disgraced officer admitted ‘sexually touching’ the six-year-old child in December 2023 and is set to be sentenced at a later date.
He was a response officer in Oldham at the time that the offence was reported, and was arrested by a supervisor when he returned to work the next day.
A senior officer has now said that Dempster ‘has no right to be in police uniform or in a position to serve the public’.
Another said it was ‘among the most distressing cases ever presented’ and a ‘despicable betrayal’ of police duties.
Dempster was convicted of sexually assaulting a young girl while responding to an incident on 29 December 2023.
He was convicted at Liverpool Crown Court in February and remained suspended since being charged at the end of last year.
Presiding over today’s hearing, CC Watson found PC Dempster’s conduct amounted to gross misconduct, saying: “This sexual assault occurred whilst the officer was on duty and where the victim was totally trusting and reliant on him performing his duties professionally, compassionately and with her welfare uppermost in his thoughts.
“It is this most egregious breach of trust of an innocent young child that is most upsetting aspect of this case and something that clearly amounts to an aggravating factor.
“I consider this case to be among the most distressing ever presented to me such is the despicable betrayal of all that is inherent in being a decent police officer.
“I have no hesitation whatsoever in dismissing PC Dempster from the service with immediate effect.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Allen, head of GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate, said: “Dean Dempster is not a police officer, he’s a child sex offender who has no right to be in police uniform or in a position to serve the public.
“We have no time for people like Dempster who should not be in GMP and does not represent us.
“This is why we’re increasingly using accelerated misconduct hearings to root out and boot out officers who are unfit to serve in our uniform, and this work will continue while ever they remain.”
Dempster has been added to the College of Policing Barred List by Chief Constable Stephen Watson, who described Dempster’s actions as ‘morally reprehensible’.
GMP used accelerated proceedings as part of its pledge to ‘root and boot’ officers unfit to serve the public.
The force is now writing to the Deputy Mayor of GM to appeal for Dempster to lose his right to a police pension.
Manchester City reveals details around the first Andy’s Man Club sessions at the Etihad Stadium
Danny Jones
Manchester City have released the first details surrounding their inaugural Andy’s Man Club sessions at the Etihad Campus.
One of the most important charities in the UK when it comes to male mental health and suicide prevention, Andy’s Man Club and even its logo alone have become a recognisable force for good over the past few years, and the significance of bringing it to such a big scale as City cannot be overstated.
The football club first announced the partnership back in February and has already been working closely with the non-profit organisation to promote better wellbeing amongst men, getting first-team stars such as defender John Stones to open up about his own experiences with mental health just last month.
With that in mind, the word is now out that Man City will be providing yet another location for groups to meet and crucially talk through Andy’s Man Club sessions, confirming details around their first meeting from next week onwards.
Set to kick off in the East Stand of the Etihad Stadium from 7-9pm on Monday, 13 May, Man City will not only help deliver a vital outlet for men in the East Manchester area but become just the latest in a long line of teams to back the regular support group.
Joining over 180 clubs nationwide – including the likes of Altrincham FC, Ashton United and Bolton Wanderers, just to name a few in the Greater Manchester area – Andy’s Mans Club is currently helping well over 4,000 men open up and combat their struggles through peer-to-peer sessions.
Founded by a group of nine blokes from Halifax back in 2016 to create positive change in men’s mental health, Andy’s Man Club now helps gather men aged 18 and over across the country every week throughout the year.
In alignment with other partnered clubs Andy’s Man Clubs across the country, attendees will be asked to arrive from 18:30 (UK) ahead of the 19:00 start time.
The sessions are free with registration or ID required and, more importantly, there’s no pressure to talk if you don’t want to. The first step is easy: just listen.
Just because it’s being held at City’s ground doesn’t mean you have to be a season ticket holder, have an official Cityzens membership to attend or anything like that, you can simply arrive via the East Stand reception (Door F) and join the session.
Attendees will be greeted on arrival by trained volunteers from Andy’s Man Club who will guide them through the stadium. With the club now on board, group sessions will be running at the same time every week (except bank holiday Mondays) with the first dates scheduled for the following nights this month:
Monday 13 May
Monday 20 May
Monday 3 June
Monday 10 June
Well done to all those involved in bringing Andy’s Man Club to Manchester City and the East Manchester community. We hope the sessions will help those going along as they have done for thousands of others.