No, Haggerston Baths will not reopen as a pool, council confirms

Haggerston pool: What’s in store for the historic Bath house?

The death knell has been sounded on hopes Haggerston Baths might one day reopen to swimmers.

The council says it patiently engaged with proponents of a “feasible bid” which would have retained and brought back to life the defunct swimming pool, spending the best part of 2016 locked in negotiations about this.

But Mayor Philip Glanville said today the Town Hall could not get the “reassurances we needed” that the scheme proposed would actually be delivered.

A final decision on the future of the historic building will now be made in the spring – but the three potential operators whose strikingly similar proposals were shortlisted by the council have all ruled out providing a swimming pool.

One proposal, by London and Regional Properties, envisages providing 35,000 square feet of employment space for creative and technology businesses as well as a “multi-function space”.

Under this scheme there would also be a café and private members club in the building, which closed as a swimming pool more than 15 years ago,

Another scheme put together by real estate private equity firm Castle Forge would involve 30,000 square feet of commercial space as well as studios, affordable workspace, retail units, a cafe and an art gallery.

The third and final proposal, put forward by Seaforth Land, would involve workspace for creative industries, an arts venue, design “hub”, cafe, offices and “live work space”.

The three developers will display proposals for the future of the historic buildings in early 2017 and residents will then be invited to provide feedback on the schemes during a consultation process.

The council is currently haemorrhaging £100,000 annually to keep the defunct baths building secure and in fit shape.

The Town Hall sought expressions of interest in June 2015, attracting 29 bids.

Operators would have to cover the multi-million pound cost of bringing the building back into use.

Following a public meeting, which yielded input from local residents, ten bidders were invited to make formal proposals. Of these, the trio referred to above were shortlisted.

Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville said: “The aim of this project was to identify a long-term and self-sustaining future for the building. Although we recognised the scale of the likely investment required to achieve this, we encouraged bidders to devise schemes that could also preserve some public access to this unique and much loved Hackney asset.

“I know that local residents were keen to restore the swimming pool, so the council has spent the best part of a year negotiating with a developer whose proposals included a pool. Unfortunately we could not get the reassurances we needed that the scheme proposed would actually be delivered.

“We will arrange a public consultation on the shortlisted proposals in the new year and would be grateful for the feedback of local residents.

“This is the start of a long process, and we will work with the winning developer to make sure the final proposals bring this much loved building back into use.”

The pool complex, which opened in 1904 and closed in 2000, is included in the Victorian Society’s list of the most endangered Victorian and Edwardian buildings in England and Wales.