Swimming pool awarded £600,000 regeneration boost

Bramley Baths offers swimming lessons, fitness classes and special events

A Grade II listed Edwardian swimming pool has been awarded more than £600,000 so a multimillion-pound regeneration project can get under way.

Bramley Baths in Leeds has received a total of £639,375 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for work to restore and protect the swimming pool, which was built in 1904.

Helen Whiteley, business development manager at the baths, said it was hoped the £4.1m scheme would see unused and original parts of the building opened up again.

"It will allow us to explore plans to develop our heritage, arts, culture and wellbeing programme, and protect and restore our unique site," Ms Whiteley said.

"It will further help put the baths on the heritage map, attract new visitors, allow us to develop exciting new activities, and ensure an environmentally sustainable and financially resilient future."

Bramley Baths was originally built as part of efforts to improve public health and wellbeing in response to an outbreak of cholera.

However, it eventually fell into disuse before being restored in the late 1980s and reopened in the early 1990s.

Bramley Baths previously opened up a community ownership scheme to raise funds

In January 2013, the building was taken over by the Friends of Bramley Baths organisation, which has run it since then.

David Wilford, chief executive officer at the baths, said the new funding would ensure the building remained open for future generations.

He said: "It's a great reward for such a great effort over the past three to four years, developing plans with local people to sustain this community-led and community-owned social enterprise.

"The whole team has worked hard to develop a credible plan that will sustain the valuable social enterprise over the next 60 years - a real legacy of what running an enterprise from a heritage treasure can achieve."

Helen Featherstone, director of England North at the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: "We are delighted to support Bramley Baths with the initial phase of their ambitious restoration project."

Those behind the regeneration plans would be able to "continue to develop their plans to safeguard the building and the many stories held within its walls for future generations", Ms Featherstone added.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.