At the grand age of 207, Cleveland Pools in Bath is the oldest public swimming pool in the UK and the country’s only surviving Georgian lido. Over more than two centuries, it’s gone through its fair share of hardships, and just two years after the pool was brought back to life it’s been revealed that it may have to say goodbye for good.
First, a small history lesson. Cleveland Pools was built on the banks of the River Avon in 1815 and was used by bathers until 1984 when public funds were redirected to a local sports centre. It was out of action (besides a brief stint as a trout farm) for the next 40 years. Then, a trust was formed to rescue the pool in 2004 and a £9.3m was raised for an enormous renovation project. The pool finally reopened in September 2023, but its return turned out to be short lived.
Just four months later, flooding caused substantial damage to the plantroom (the room containing all the pumps, filtration systems and chemical dosing equipment need to run the pool), and the Cleveland Pools was forced to close again. It hasn’t been able to reopen since.
Now, a new financial report on Companies House has warned that repair and permanent reopening of the beloved Cleveland Pools may not be possible.
The report said that trustees went back to the National Lottery Heritage Funding asking for more money to ‘carry out investigations to assess the cause and extent of the damage’. It stated: ‘The risk that the cost to repair the pools and the plantroom will be substantial and beyond the resources available to the trust. There is therefore a risk that the pools cannot be repaired and reopened.’
‘To mitigate against this risk the trust is exploring all potential avenues that would allow the pools to be repaired and reopened, including but not limited to legal recourse and external funding.’
A spokesperson for the National Lottery Heritage Fund told the Independent: ‘We recognise the commitment of Cleveland Pools Trust to address the ongoing impact of the flooding. As part of our responsibility to ensure accountability, effectiveness, and efficient use of public funds we are continuing to monitor the situation, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund is meeting regularly with the Cleveland Pools Trust as they work toward a solution.’
The report states that the next steps for trustees will be to finalise the investigation works and costs of repairs and then work with the council and National Lottery Fund to secure funding.
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