Campaign – Page 3 – Friends of Moseley Road Baths

Moseley Road Baths – at the ‘art’ of Balsall Heath

Where to start with summarising last Saturday’s fantastic art exhibition and celebration of Moseley Road Baths’ 104th Birthday? We were overwhelmed by the response from artists and those who attended on the day; what a timely reminder with the Baths currently closed that it still remains as popular and loved as ever!

Pool of Memories Art Exhibition

First off I must say a huge thank you to the artists who produced such fantastic work! Please do look them up and support them! They are: Anne Irby Crews, Eleanor Leonne Bennett, Harry Starling, Heather Ramsden, Helen Flanagan, Maria Reaney, Michelle Bint, Paul Hull, Paul Jessett, Robert Geoghegan, Rose Jennings and Vivienne Harrison.

Thanks also to Corinne Fowler who read an excerpt from her novel which vividly describes a full-immersion Baptism at Moseley Road Baths – something that the Riverside Church used to do. She did an excellent job of transporting the audience to the poolside in the absence of our annual tours!

Pool of Memories Art Exhibition

The day was also an opportunity to celebrate our Pool of Memories project so far. The bits of our archive out on display really got people talking and we got so many wonderful stories and great feedback! A number of people left their details for us to interview them, and this wonderful certificate was shown to us which dates back to 1928!

Pool of Memories Art Exhibition

I was lucky enough to do two wonderful oral history interviews with visitors. Betty spoke about her first attempts at swimming in the early 1930s and going for weekly baths, right through to swimming as a teenager, courting with Fred (now her husband!) and taking their daughter there when she was a toddler. Ruth was visiting from Yorkshire and spoke fondly of her 13 years of working as a lifeguard and how it was so much more than lifesaving but about building important relationships with the whole community.

We also screened films from our Pool of Memories School project, including Premiering two films produced by pupils at Park Hill School over the past couple of weeks. A few of the pupils were in attendance and proudly showed their work off to family!

Pool of Memories Art Exhibition

Finally, a massive thank you to all those who volunteered their time on the day and to the staff at the School of Art for making us so welcome. Over 110 people were in attendance which I think is a huge achievement for a voluntary group! Please do let us know what you thought of the event so we can build on this success for next year’s event!

Baths to reopen in January?

Update from Cllr Martin Mullaney – it seems that the Baths may be due to reopen in January after all, despite a letter from Cllr Mullaney dated 18th October where the date for reopening was put at the end of February 2012! Images of the work being done on the Baths plus notes can be viewed here, here and here.

Update on Moseley Road baths –1^st November 2011

I attended a meeting this morning with the contractors who are presently working on re-opening Moseley Road baths. The good news is that we are still on target to re-open the swimming baths in mid to late January 2012.

In addition I successfully managed to persuade the Finance department to fund an addition £195,000 of work on the baths – more details on this in a bit

My last blog update was on 29^th September and can be seen at http://martinmullaney.blogspot.com/2011/09/update-on-moseley-road-baths-29-th.html

The contractors moved onto site on 17^th October and are on target to remove all the asbestos from the basement, from 25^th November.

From 25^th November, work will begin on installing the permanent structural scaffolding in the basement which will replace heavily corroded temporary scaffolding which is holding up large sections of the floor plate of the building. This work will take six weeks to complete. Taking into account the Christmas break, we anticipate work finishing mid-January and the baths re-opening.

The fire exit door from pool 2, which caused the closure of the pool last Christmas is now fully repaired.

The £195,000 additional funding for the baths, is broken down as follows:

£65,000 to install the permanent scaffolding in the basement from 25^th November onwards

£50,000 to prepare a Heritage Lottery bid for just over £5million for phase one of the works to restore these baths. Our objective for phase 1 is to stabilise the condition of the building, so that it is no longer deteriating. This would include remove the dry rot from the first floor and fixing any leaks in the roof.

£80,000 for ‘sticking plaster’ works to get the swimming baths through the next two years, in preparation for any restoration monies. We are arranging a meeting with English Heritage and our Conservation Officers in two weeks time to walk around the building and roof. What we want to do is plug up any roof leaks on pool 2, remove any vegetation growing out of brick work and install temporary plastic rainwater pipes where the original cast iron ones have vanished. Plus lead has been recently stolen from the roof, which will also need replacing.

Baths reopening put back AGAIN

We have received an update on the work currently being done at Moseley Road Baths from Cllr Martin Mullaney. His letter addressed to our group puts the new date for completing work to remove asbestos in the basement, environmentally clean the area and erect new scaffolding at the end of February 2012.

Work to remove the asbestos started on 17th October – we reported that asbestos had been found on 25th August.

There is, however, some possible good news as Birmingham City Council is planning to make a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for a first phase of work to improve the building. This is likely to be structural work to maintain the building.

The Friends of Moseley Road Baths and local swimmers highlighted back at the start of the summer holidays on a ‘We Want to Swim’ demo that the extended closure of the building (it originally closed for ‘5 weeks’ in December 2010 and has to date been closed over 10 months) meant that local children were missing the opportunity to go swimming, or even learn to swim in the first place. With neighbouring Sparkhill Baths permanently closed and other pools in the South of the city either busy or too far away, it’s really crucial that the building reopens as soon as is feasible.

We urge our supporters to keep in touch with local councillors and council officers to keep the pressure on – particularly with a local by-election coming up on 10th November and important local elections next May.

Baths to reopen after Christmas

Update on Moseley Road baths –25th August 2011 – just in from Cllr Mullaney

The date for the re-opening of Moseley Road baths has been put back to the New Year, following the discovery of large amounts of loose asbestos in the basement area.

My last blog update was on 25th July and can be seen at http://martinmullaney.blogspot.com/2011/07/update-on-moseley-road-baths-25-th-july.html

The following is a brief update on where we are with re-opening Pool 2.

Pool 2 closed in December 2010, after it was found that the steel lintel above the fire exit in this pool was corroded so much, that it was in danger of collapsing and pulling down the wall and roof above it.
This lintel has now been replaced with a stainless steel lintel

While the new lintel was being inserted, the Council’s Health and Safety team inspected the basement and raised serious concerns about the structural integrity of a series of temporary metal props holding up the ground floor plate, which in turn were holding up the roof. The Health and Safety team insisted that these should be replaced with permanent props.

Before work could begin on installing these permanent props, the Health and Safety team designated the basement as a ‘confined working area’ and put in a wholes series of stringent working conditions, including an asbestos survey.
The asbestos survey was completed in mid-August and confirms that there are substantial amounts of loose Amosite and Chrysotile asbestos in the basement. Both types of asbestos are the most hazardous type of asbestos. Bits of gasket containing asbestos and flaks of rust covered in asbestos material have over the years laid on the floor of the basement. During that time, the basement has flooded several times, with the loose asbestos spreading throughout the basement, mixed in with other debris.

I attach a photo of a photo from the asbestos report showing gaskets and flaks of rust lying on the basement floor that contain Chrysotile asbestos.

All this asbestos needs to be removed, before the work on installing the permanent props begins.

The cost of removing the asbestos will be £80,000 and adds 10 weeks to the programme. We hope to have the money signed off next week and with the installation of the permanent prop, we expect pool 2 to be open after Christmas 2011, subject to no further problems being found.

I have enquired as to whether we need to do any more asbestos surveys in the rest of the building. I am assured that over the years all other parts of Moseley Road baths have had asbestos surveys and the basement was the only section not to have been surveyed.

I have also asked for the Asbestos survey for the basement to be checked to see if it can be made public on request. I hope to have an answer on this next week. Please let me know if you wish to be e-mailed a copy.

“We Want To Swim” Demo

As the six-week school summer holidays got underway a group of frustrated parents and children descended on Moseley Road Baths in Balsall Heath to complain about the ongoing closure of their favourite pool.

Summer holiday 'non-swim'

The Baths shut for essential repairs at Christmas for what Birmingham City Council initially claimed would be just six weeks, but more than six months later there’s still no sign of the building reopening, with the Council acknowledging that it will take another nine weeks for additional maintenance work to be carried out, leaving locals without a public pool, a situation exacerbated by the long-term closure of nearby Sparkhill Baths.

Around twenty Moseley Road Baths regulars attended Monday’s demonstration, organised by the Friends of Moseley Road Baths group. Jenny Wale, who came along with her daughters Millie (aged 9) and Sadie (11) said: “My children have nowhere to swim locally and because of the closure we have to drive several miles to our nearest pool. They’re missing out on something they love.”

Summer holiday 'non-swim'

David Pratt from Moseley Shoals swimming club was another demonstrator: “We are currently using Small Heath Leisure Centre to swim but we’d love to have our local baths back operating again.” The club have also tried using Cocks Moors Woods Leisure Centre at Alcester Lanes End but found it unsuitable for their requirements, being more of a leisure pool.

Friends’ Secretary Rachel Gillies remarked: “The school holidays have just begun, the weather’s been getting warmer and local children are desperate to come and swim at their local pool. It’s crucial that the remaining building and maintenance work starts as soon as possible so that this valuable and well-loved community facility can re-open and be enjoyed by all.”

Although work to replace the lintel above a door in the swimming pool (the initial reason for the pool’s closure) has now been completed, Birmingham City Council’s Urban Design team are insisting on the replacement of temporary scaffolding in the basement, while an asbestos survey of this area must also be carried out. Negotiations between contractors and the Council over the costs and details of this work have been ongoing for several weeks. On Monday, Councillor Martin Mullaney, Chairman of Leisure, Sport and Culture, stated that it would be late September at the earliest before Moseley Road Baths re-opened.

For more information or additional comment, please contact Jen Austin, Friends of Moseley Road Baths: 0121 440 5794/07521 734 022

Friends of Moseley Road Baths

July 25th 2011

Join us for a ‘swim’

Dear MRB Supporter,

With Moseley Road Baths set to remain closed for the whole of the school holidays we’re inviting you (and if possible, your children) to join us outside the baths at noon this coming Monday, July 25th – the first day of the school holidays – to express disappointment and unhappiness at the continued closure of Moseley Road Baths. We’ll take some photos and are inviting the local press along so bring your swimming costume (not to wear, but to hold up as it makes a much better picture!) and together we’ll try to increase pressure on Birmingham City Council to get the baths reopened for the first time since December 2010.

If you can get along that would be great, if you could tell a friend, that would be fantastic too. We’ll need you for about 15 minutes. Thanks.

The Friends of Moseley Road Baths

Pupils banner — Local pupils have previously made their views known!

Baths reopening delayed (again!)

We are sorry to have to tell you but we have now been informed that the pool will not be re-opening on July 15th as had been hoped. Following enquiries made by our Secretary, Rachel Gillies on Tuesday (later followed up with a ‘phone call to Councillor Martin Mullaney, BCC Cabinet member for Leisure, Sport and Culture), we understand that it will be a minimum of seven weeks (possibly longer), before the Baths re-opens.

The latest problem relates to the need to strengthen and replace the scaffolding in the basement (we mentioned this issue in an earlier post, last month). BCC safety officers have now asked for a series of measures to be taken in the basement before this work can commence. Cllr Mullaney tells us that he expects these measures to be attended to in around one week, but that the strengthening work itself will take six weeks, hence the minimum seven week timeframe.

One piece of good news however is that work on the new lintel over the door in Pool 2 should be completed this week, but with Tuesday marking exactly 6 months since the pool failed to re-open after the Christmas and New Year holidays, this latest failed deadline (the fifth, we think) is a serious blow and means that local children are likely to be unable to swim at MRB for most, if not all, of the summer holidays.

We’ll keep you updated, but please check back here for further details…and do let your local councillors know how frustrating it is to have Britain’s most historic pool closed for yet another couple of months. We would welcome your thoughts on the closure, either via e-mail or by using the comments box below.

Decisions on Sparkhill Baths Rebuilding

Tonight a discussion on the rebuilding of Sparkhill Pool and Fitness Centre will take place at the Hall Green Constituency Committee. We would encourage all regular swimmers and gym users to attend to ensure that their views are taken into account at what could be a very important meeting in deciding who rebuilds, finances and manages the new facility.

The procurement will be presented in full at this meeting. Amongst the options is Option 4: Design, build, operate and maintain by an external contractor. This clearly has ramifications for the way our leisure services are funded and managed. Both the Sparkhill Baths group and FoMRB have major misgivings about the role of the private sector in the city’s leisure services.

The meeting details are:

Venue: Kings Heath Primary School, Valentine Road, Kings Heath, Birmingham B14

Date and Time: Tuesday 28th June, 7pm

Agenda notes can be found at: http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/democracy/Pages/MeetingDetail.aspx?MeetSchedID%3d18338

Baths to reopen in July

We received this update from Cllr Mullaney last night:

Update on Moseley Road baths -8th June 2011

First of all we have a new date for the re-opening of Pool 2 of Moseley Road baths – 15th July (plus or minus a day or two).

The stainless steel lintel above the fire exit door to Pool 2 is now in place. See attached photos (below).

The work to brick in this lintel in and remove the supporting frame will be complete by 8th July.

I have managed to secure the £50,000 to install permanent structural scaffolding in the basement. Work starts on the installation of this scaffolding on the coming Monday.

The background to why we need this permanent structural scaffolding can be read at http://martinmullaney.blogspot.com/2011/05/update-on-moseley-road-baths-10-th-may.html

Subject, to no further faults being found in the building, the pool will re-open to the public on 15th July thereabouts.

In the meantime, work is still moving forward on submitting a £5million bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2012 to start the first phase of restoring these baths.

moseley-road-baths3

moseley-road-baths1

moseley-road-baths2

Reopening setback

We are currently anxiously awaiting the reopening of the pool since it was closed for work in December 2010. Whilst we were initially of the understanding that work would start on the lintel above the Pool 2 Fire Exit immediately, it was some months before surveys were completed, business plans produced, money secured and a contractor appointed.

Yesterday we learnt of a further setback to the reopening, which was scheduled to take place on 23rd May. Cllr Mullaney has contacted us with the following e-mail:

Readers will be aware that Pool 2 of Moseley Road baths has been closed since Christmas so that the lintel above the fire exit door in this pool can be repaired.

See previous posting at http://martinmullaney.blogspot.com/2011/04/update-on-moseley-road-baths-4-th-april.html

We were hoping that the work would be completed on or around 23rd May. Unfortunately, we are now looking at, at best, 13th June. Although this date may be pushed back due to additional problems in the basement of the baths.

At time of writing, the stainless steel lintel for the fire exit door in Pool 2 is being manufactured in Switzerland. We hope to have it at Moseley Road baths in 2 weeks time. Installing and removing the steel frame holding up the load bearing wall above the fire exit, will take a further three weeks – hence the 13th June date.

In addition, the Council’s structural engineers have raised concerns about the state of decade old acrow props underneath the former second class mens slipper baths. These acrow props hold the floor up, which in turn holds up the roof at this section of the building.

The acrow props are heavily rusted and need replacing immediately.

Our Structural engineers will only allow any replacement temporary acrow props to remain in situ for two months and want a permanent structure put in place. Estimated costed is £100,000.

The council’s Urban Design team are in the process of costing a temporary and permanent solution. They hope to have this information to me by the end of this week.