Council saves historic swimming pool from closure
A historic swimming baths in Balsall Heath will remain open for three years, thanks to a licence granted by Birmingham City Council.
Following a long campaign by heritage organisations and locals, the Moseley Road Baths will also receive £100,000 for repair and maintenance over the next 12 months from the council, who will retain responsibility for the maintenance to the building and the pool for three years.
The lifeline, granted in a council cabinet meeting, will go to the Moseley Road Baths Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), formed by Moseley Road Baths Action Group.
Karen Leach, the chair of the Moseley Road Baths CIO, was “thrilled” with the outcome. She said: “It is all we could have hoped for and more. We will maintain swimming at these beautiful baths and a process has been started to repair and restore the building.”
The Baths was headed for closure last year when, in June 2017, the council offered to keep it open until March this year to allow community groups to come up with a business plan for its future.
A Moseley Road Baths coalition, led by the council and National Trust and comprising of Friends of Moseley Road Baths, Moseley Road Baths Action Group, Historic England, World Monuments Fund, was set up with the aim of securing a sustainable future for the Baths.
Birmingham City Council leader Cllr Ian Ward said, “I know how much Moseley Road Baths mean to the community and the campaigners deserve a great deal of credit for their dedication over a number of years.
“I’m absolutely delighted that we’ve been able to take these important steps to protect and preserve such a significant building, ensuring that it is not only a part of Birmingham’s history, but a part of our present and future too.”
The Baths is the only Grade II* listed baths in the UK that predate 1914, and was added to the World Monuments Watch List in 2016, which features 50 buildings and monuments across the world.
