Contractor takes a dip at Victoria Baths
MANCHESTER-based building contractor and restoration specialist William Anelay has returned to the city’s iconic Victoria Baths to carry out a major re-roofing project.
The £850,000 contract – due for completion in May – involves extensive slating, glazing and lead work to the roof of the gala pool.
The scheme is being funded by English Heritage, the Heritage Lottery Fund and Manchester City Council .
The pool is one of three baths which won the 2003 BBC Restoration series. It has also appeared in TV programmes including Casualty, the Antiques Roadshow, Cracker, Prime Suspect and Life on Mars.
The contract is an extension of the £3m phase one works carried out over 14 months by William Anelay in 2007 and 2008.
William Anelay site manager Gary Shea said: “The project has involved the internal construction of a vast birdcage scaffolding system and a complex temporary roofing structure above the pool.
“Because the original materials have deteriorated beyond repair, new materials are being introduced. The existing structure however will be stripped, materials separated and where possible sent away for recycling.”
Neil Bonner, building officer with the Victoria Baths Trust, said: “The roof of the gala pool had been giving us cause for concern and William Anelay is currently involved in re-slating the roof, repairing rainwater goods and restoring the magnificent glazing.”
