A damning report on the condition of Berners Pool in Grange-over-Sands warns that the £3.5 million four-year-old building is now unsafe and will continue to deteriorate further while it remains closed.

The report, commissioned by South Lakeland District Council in November last year, claims the building already requires a significant amount of work if it is to be used as a leisure facility at any stage in the future.

This week, both the designer of the building and the building contractor that constructed it said they were shocked at the findings of the preliminary survey on the award-winning pool.

The report, undertaken by private company Norfolk Property Services, the former property services arm of SLDC, highlights a range of problems concentrating on condensation, damp and water ingress.

It states in the introduction of the 34-page document that: "It is evident from an initial inspection on October 12, 2006 that the building fabric has deteriorated beyond what would normally be expected for a building of this age."

The survey found damage within the building itself due to "rainwater continuing to pour in" as well as dampness thought to be the result of an insufficient water barrier within the concrete walls and partial failure of the tanking on the outside of the basement wall.

On inspection of the building, Norfolk Property Services stated many of the windows were also allowing water to seep into the building.

The report concludes rainwater was passing through metal parapet cover flashings on the roof into the interior of the building causing extensive damage to its fabric.

Mike Jones, SLDC chief executive, said the report was provisional and more extensive investigations would be needed for each and every issue raised before the true extent of the work needed could be known.

But he confirmed it was likely that any firm answering the invitation to tender for the operation of Berners Pool would have to contend with the cost of the repair work.

Acclaimed British architect Stephen Hodder MBE, who designed the building, said he was shocked how much deterioration had taken place since last year when he visited the building ten weeks ago.

But he stated issues with the building before it closed were not major, and did not affect its ability to operate in any way.

"I was shocked to see it. There appears to be a lot of cosmetic damage and problems that have occurred since it has closed that have not received any attention.

"But the fabric of the building itself is OK, it should not affect its lifespan of 80 years or more."

According to Mr Hodder, whose Manchester-based firm has won more than 25 awards for architectural excellence, he was in contact with the Cartmel Peninsula Recreational Trust over condensation problems before the pool closed in July last year.

"There are always problems with buildings of this complexity when you hand them over which is why we were working with the trust to eliminate those.

"But there are now problems that were certainly not apparent when we inspected it shortly before it closed.

"Unfortunately, these things have not been rectified and have led to damage inside the building and there are now costs associated with that."

Describing the situation as tragic, Mr Hodder has offered to act as a point of contact for companies considering responding to the tendering process.

The current condition of the building, as set out in the report, also came as a shock to David Atkinson, managing director of Thomas Armstrong Ltd, the building firm contracted to construct Berners Pool.

Mr Atkinson claims the Maryport-based firm, which built Keswick's Theatre by the Lake and Carlisle Racecourse, is still owed money from the project that equates to around £55,000 including the retention fee.

He added the only problems the company was aware of before the pool closed last year was condensation, and that it was planned that further investigation work would be required to get to the underlying cause of the problem.

"I am extremely disappointed the pool has closed because the community put so much into raising the money for it in the first place.

"No-one has ever said water was pouring in, and I'm surprised at the how bad the building sounds from the report.

"I would attend any meeting with the architect, SLDC and anyone else to talk about a solution for Berners Pool."