Community begins using restored section of Moseley Road Baths

The first phase of work has finished on restoring Moseley Road Baths and Balsall Heath Library

Community groups have begun to use part of a grade II-listed swimming baths after a first phase of works finished.

The two-and-a-half-year project began in March at Moseley Road Baths and Balsall Heath Library, in Birmingham.

The restoration is aimed at stopping further decay, with the first phase boosting the facade of the baths and the manager's flat and boardroom.

Yoga classes and a group to teach women English have begun using a restored area of the site.

Both the library and the pool sections have remained open to the public throughout work allowing the groups' arrival.

The site was found to be badly decayed when work began, the chair of Moseley Road Baths CIO, Lucy Reid, said.

"These rooms were previously in an advanced state of dereliction, with huge holes in the roof, windows falling in and dead pigeons on the floor," she said.

"They are totally transformed and are a brilliant statement of intent for the future."

The manager's flat and boardroom have been overhauled as part of the works

Funding for the works included £657,000 from the World Monuments Fund, Historic England and Birmingham City Council.

The project was also awarded £15.5m from the government's Levelling Up funding.

Work to finalise the next stage of the transformation has started, the city council says, with historic interiors set to be restored and lifts installed.