Steve Beauchampe takes us into the heart and soul of Moseley Road Baths, tells its history, and shows how important and valuable a building can be.
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Popularity: 30% [?]
Archive for the ‘Birmingham Pools’ Category
£12m plan to redevelop Harborne pool
On November - 5 - 2009
A brand new, £12.5m swimming pool is to replace Harborne’s ageing baths.
Birmingham City Council announced that a two-storey leisure centre would be built on the site of the old pool, which was opened in 1923.
The council says it will start building the new facility in February or March next year and aims to complete it by ‘late 2011′. It will include:
Harborne Pool, opened in 1923.
- a 25m pool;
- a learner pool;
- an adult fitness suite;
- a junior gym;
- a dance aerobics studio.
The council believes Harborne’s 23m pool is ‘in danger of closure’ and there is a clear need for a new facility in the west of the city.
Councillor Martin Mullaney, cabinet member for leisure, sport and culture, said: “I recognise our swimming pool strategy is extremely ambitious and we don’t just want to talk about a strategy, we want to deliver for the people of this city. This is a significant stage in delivery of the strategy.”
Hashbrum reporter, Andrew Brightwell, has written a report on Harborne Pool.
This map shows all of the local authority swimming pools in Birmingham. While the pool is closed, residents in Harborne, or those living to the west of the city centre, will face long journeys for a swim.
View Swimming pools in Birmingham in a larger map
Do you have any memories of Harborne pool or opinions about the council’s plan? Please tell us what you think.
Popularity: 49% [?]
Can we save Moseley Rd Baths?
On November - 1 - 2009
At the Memories and Memorabilia Day for Moseley Road Baths, Andrew Brightwell spoke to organiser Rachel Gillies about the campaign to save the endangered Edwardian pools and her hopes for the future of the famous landmark.
Rachel, who is the secretary of the Friends of Moseley Roads Baths, believes the council should step in to save the famous and very rare baths. Guest of honour at the Memorabilia Day, historian Simon Inglis, also made a heartfelt plea for the baths to be saved and to be kept as the only pre-Second World War, Grade II-star-listed swimming baths in use.
What is the ‘Memories and Memorabilia day all about?
What is wrong with the baths at the moment?
What does the future hold?
Are these the right plans for Moseley Road? Should the council stump up the cash to save the baths? Please tell us what you think.
Popularity: 37% [?]
Endangered Moseley Road Baths ‘of international importance’
On October - 31 - 2009
Historian Simon Inglis has told Birmingham City Council it must act to save the historic Moseley Road Baths or risk losing a landmark of international significance.
Speaking at the Memories and Memorabilia event, organised by the Friends of Moseley Road Baths, the author laid out the case for preserving the Edwardian building, which has fallen into disrepair and now has only one of its two pools in use.
At a talk at the Methodist Church opposite the baths, he said: “There are only six pre Second World War baths that are Grade II-star listed, and Moseley Road is the only one that is still in use. It is no exaggeration to say that the building over the road is of enormous importance internationally.”
He explained that, due to its intact fittings, splendid architecture and remarkably preserved pools, it served as a unique example of how public baths had transformed health and hygiene in Victorian and Edwardian Britain. Since the UK had led the way in the development of modern swimming pools, Moseley Road was not just significant here, but in the rest of the world.
Designed by William Hale and opened in 1907, it has been the subject of huge debate since its main (Gala) pool was closed in 2003. While the Friends hope the Gala pool can be refurbished at a cost between £3million and £4million, Birmingham City Council is struggling with a funding black hole of £2.2billion and is yet to announce its plans for the baths.
The writer, born opposite Sparkhill pool, said it was time city planners took note of local feeling by doing everything they could to save the Moseley Road Baths and warned that handing it over to a not-for-profit trust – as the council is considering – might not be enough to save the facility. “It doesn’t free the local authority from bringing it up to scratch,” he said, adding that the full figure for its complete restoration could be in the region of £20million.
Pictures and video, including a tour of the baths and an interview with Simon Inglis, to follow shortly.
Popularity: 35% [?]
