Introduction
From CPT
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Hidden away in Bathwick, on the banks of the River Avon, is the country's only surviving Georgian lido. Closed over twenty years ago, the Cleveland Pleasure Pools were at one time a favourite summer destination for generations of Bathonians. Now a campaign is underway to re-open the pools for public bathing.
The Cleveland swimming pools in Bath were built at the beginning of the nineteenth century and provided open air bathing for the city's residents until they were closed during the 1970s (although they re-opened temporarily for a short period in the mid-1980s). Other than a brief and unsuccessful life as a trout farm, they have been closed ever since.
Together with the Princes Regeneration Trust and the Trevor Osborne Property Group, the Cleveland Pools Trust has been in negotiations with Bath & North East Somerset Council with a view to acquiring and restoring this unique Grade II* site. After an initial feasibility study £64,000 was raised, including funding from English Heritage and contributions from The Osborne Group, The Duke of Cornwall's Benevolent Fund and the Cleveland Pools Trust.
Once reinstated, the Cleveland Pools will fulfil a key role in the Bath World Heritage Site while providing a focus on leisure, healthy living, ecology and education for the local community. Below is a draft plan of the possible design.
Following grant funding from English Heritage, a substantial programme of assessment of the Pools site took place in 2010, continuing into 2011. The assessments included specialist analyses including engineering, building condition, access to and within the site, flooding risk and arboriculture. The pool was drained last autumn and the good news is that the underlying structure of the main pool is basically sound. These assessments were taken into account during the preparation of a comprehensive business plan.
Plans include a children’s splash pool and refreshments for visitors in addition to a small heritage exhibition. Swimming would be offered in the restored and heated 25 metre outdoor pool, with changing rooms and shower facilities. Natural water treatment is the preferred solution and is also more cost effective. The future use of the site would need to include a number of events as this will be important to contribute to revenue income. We would hope to keep these to a minimum as restoring public swimming to this historic site is still the main aim of the CPT.
For a bird's eye view of the pools click here.
The Trust's Options Appraisal is available to download from the Links page here.
You can view a video about the pools on You Tube here.
Click here to download an information leaflet. (PDF, 1.6MB)
To receive regular updates join the mailing list here.
For more information email info@clevelandpools.org.uk.
