Threatened baths could get nine-month reprieve
A HISTORIC Birmingham swimming pool that faces closure could be given a nine-month reprieve.
The council’s cabinet will consider keeping Moseley Road Baths open until March 2018 – giving more time for community organisations to form plans for its long-term future.
The pool, in Balsall Heath, was built in 1907 and has been earmarked for closure when the new Sparkhill Swimming Pool opens for business next year.
A paper – Options for the future of Moseley Road Pool – will be discussed on Tuesday by council cabinet.
It follows an appraisal on future options for the pool, commissioned by the Moseley Road Baths Action Group and carried out by The National Trust and the Prince’s Regeneration Trust. Picture: Mikey Jones
Birmingham City Council’s deputy leader, Cllr Ian Ward, said: “Moseley Road Pool is a Grade II-listed building and the only Grade II pool still in operation as a public pool in the UK.
“Unfortunately it has some serious structural issues and the costs of repair are exorbitant and out of the council’s reach.
“We hope that by keeping the pool open for another nine months we can give the National Trust and other groups in the Coalition enough time to prepare plans for the pool’s future use.”
The National Trust’s view was that if the pool was to close, even for a short period, the cost of reopening would be significant due to the age of the building and in particular the pool tank and plant.