Historic music venue allowed to open full time

The Baths in Ipswich will be able to operate full time as a music venue after the council granted planning permission

A music venue that once hosted acts including Led Zeppelin and Rod Stewart has been granted permission to open full time.

The Baths on Civic Drive in Ipswich, which was previously a swimming pool, has been used by Brighten the Corners for several years as a pop-up music venue.

It recently applied for planning permission for a permanent change of use of the building which has now been granted by Ipswich Borough Council.

Joe Bailey, chief executive of Brighten the Corners, said the permission would help create a strong "foundation" for the organisation's plans.

"It's fantastic news for us to receive the planning permission to have a full time music venue in The Baths," he said.

"It's a really great step into the future for us."

The organisation had been trialling the 300-capacity venue to see if there was an audience for live music while making use of temporary event notice (TEN) from the council.

"It just means that we no longer have to rely on TENs applications both for the use of the venue but also from the alcohol licencing point of view which we received a couple of weeks back as well," Mr Bailey added.

"It just puts a stronger foundation down to what we're going to achieve now and in the future."

The Baths will be able to host live music until 02:00 on Friday and Saturday nights

Brighten the Corners also makes use of The Smokehouse on South Street as well as St Stephen's Church on St Stephens Lane.

Mr Bailey believed the new licence for The Baths would also help connect the town's wider music scene together and attract established artists.

"It's great to showcase not just our venues but the town itself to people from outside the area," he said.

As well as applying for the change of use for The Baths to become a full time music venue, Brighten the Corners also applied to offer an educational/training space, as first reported by the Ipswich Star.

Mr Bailey said the organisation would look into what it could potentially do with this for the upstairs area.

The council granted permission subject to several planning conditions as well as restrictions on opening times.

The venue will be able to remain open until 02:00 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights for live music while the rest of the week it can stay open until 00:00.

Led Zeppelin performed at The Baths in Ipswich in 1971 a week after the release of their fourth album

The Baths has a long history as a music venue.

In the 1960s and 1970s, boards used to be placed over the swimming pool so it could host bands and performers.

In 1971 Led Zeppelin performed and it was labelled as "Suffolk's greatest gig" by BBC Suffolk presenter Stephen Foster.

The pool was shut when the council opened Crown Pools in the 1980s.

The venue was then used as a social club and more recently as a gym before it reopened in 2021 as a music venue.

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