Council urged to reveal plans for Bingley Pool

Jeremy Thackray has been co-chair of the Friends of Bingley Pool for the past two years

Campaigners on a mission to save their local pool have demanded that Bradford Council "comes clean" over its plans for the historic building.

The pool had been in line for a portion of the £14m Levelling Up cash awarded to the council last March (2024), under the previous Conservative government.

But in August last year, the new Labour government announced it was reassessing all applications to the Towns Fund which had reached a certain stage, and it has since confirmed Bingley's bid was rejected.

Bradford Council said it was "considering the next steps for the site" and will keep the Friends of Bingley Pool (FoBP) informed, but campaigners are demanding more clarity.

The pool opened in 1927, but was closed in 2020 during the pandemic - and has never reopened

Jeremy Thackray has been co-chair of the FoBP for two years.

He said: "We really just want the council to come clean - [to] go down the list of options and say this is why it can, or cannot, do them.

"Then at least we all known where we stand.

"The danger, as we see it, is the assumption that the pool is past its best, and it would be best selling it.

" We know it's been on the council's selling list before, but we don't think all the other options have been ticked off just yet.

"We don't just want to leave it to an assumption that it will be sold."

Mr Thackray said the group, which was originally set up with the aim of taking over and running the pool, had had to change the emphasis of its campaign.

He said campaigners were looking at examples of community-owned facilities such as Moseley Road Baths in Birmingham and Bramley Baths in nearby Leeds.

He said: "Over at Bramley Baths, they did a community share offer which raised hundreds of thousands of pounds.

"They've also, using that funding, unlocked Heritage Lottery funding as well.

"Those two sources are bringing in over a million pounds."

The Friends of Bingley Pool hope to keep the pool in the ownership of the community

Mr Thackray said understanding the council's plans for Bingley pool would allow campaigners to react accordingly.

He said: "We'll be ready to move on from this when we've explored every opportunity there is to keep it in public hands.

"Until that point, we'll keep on fighting."

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: "We know residents and the Friends of Bingley Pool group campaigned very hard to save the pool and still care deeply about the issue.

"We're considering the next steps for the site and will keep the Friends' group informed.

"We're continuing to make the case to government for investment into Bingley as a priority more generally."

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