Share scheme aims to raise £250k for baths
ACOMMUNITY share scheme which hopes to raise £250,000 for the restoration of Haslingden Baths is to be launched next month.
A new company, ‘Haslingden Pool Limited’, has been set up to enable the project to legally offer shares to supporters who wish to invest to help save the historic building.
The scheme, first announced last October, was due to launch by April this year, but was delayed after a series of break-ins and vandalism at the East Bank Avenue site.
Now organisers are in a position to launch the scheme in July and have set a target of £250,000 to topup funding from grants and complete the restoration project - which aims to get the pool back in public use.
Anyone purchasing shares in the company would become a co-owner of the baths and would have a say in how the pool is managed.
Details of the share offer - which will run until the end of September 2018 - will be shared by the company shortly.
Martyn Willcock, a member of the project’s steering group, said the scheme pre- sented an ‘exciting’ opportunity.
He said: “A huge amount of work has been going on behind the scenes to ensure that this popular local project can continue.
“The past months have been challenging with a number of set-backs.
“Break ins, vandalism and extensive theft of materials and fixtures have tested our resolve and disrupted our progress considerably.
“Despite this, we are extremely fortunate to have the support of a fantastic group of enthusiastic volunteers, and continue to enjoy a huge amount support from the local community.”
The on-going project is in partnership with Rossendale Borough Council, Valley Heritage preservation trust and the Bacup-based heritage charity, Community Assets Standing Tall.
Rossendale council leader Coun Alyson Barnes said: “We continue to work with Haslingden Pool Limited to help them realise their aim of reopening the pool.
“We are very supportive of their plans of launching an innovative community share scheme. It’s a crying shame that their hard work has been disrupted by break-ins and vandalism and I utterly condemn the individuals who are hampering efforts of volunteers to turn their plans into reality.”