Even with its Heritage Lottery Fund multi-million pound grant seem Britain’s oldest surviving swimming baths still need a cash injection towards fully restoring and opening Bath’s Cleveland Pools to the general public.
The Grade 2* listed Georgian lido secured £4.7 million from HLF at the end of 2018 to pay for the bulk of the restoration work’ due to reopen this summer.
However, from midday today the Trust is launching a month-long Crowdfunder which it says will ‘secure the finishing touches to this epic project’
They’ve also pulled in six celebrities to support this financial push – though there is no mention of how much they hope to raise.
Olympians Amy Williams, Sharron Davies, and Paralympian Stephanie Millward. Actor Kris Marshall, author Jonathan Dimbleby and Sport Pundit David Flatman, have joined together to recite a poem, about the Pools, filmed (mostly) on site.
Here’s the rest of their press release:
- Your help is needed: Please donate to the Cleveland Pools Crowdfunder, launching on the Cleveland Pools web and social media sites at midday on
18th February. - Get involved to win the once-in-a-lifetime chance to be one of the first to swim in the newly restored Georgian pools, the oldest lido in the UK.
- As the Trust enters the final stages of the onsite construction, renewed support is needed – a final fundraising push to secure the finishing touches to this epic project.
- The Cleveland Pool Trust is a shared community endeavour, with a vision to create a special place for Bath residents, and visitors to the City,
to enjoy for generations.
“We are so grateful for the local, and national, enthusiasm for The Pools, so very excited that we can now give everyone a chance to get involved. You can be a part of something amazing – donate to ensure the historic Cleveland Pools reopen and be in with a chance of winning one of the very first swims!”
Kitty Dimbleby, Comms and PR Trustee Cleveland Pools Trust
Enter the draw
Donate to the Crowdfunder and enter the draw for a once-in-a-lifetime chance to be one of the first in the pools for over forty years.
Grab your best swim buddy, dust off your bathers and jump in!
About the Crowdfunder
Launch Date: Midday 18th February End Date: 3pm 18th March
Visit www.clevelandpools.org.uk
and follow the links from the homepage.
Cleveland Pools is the UK’s oldest public outdoor swimming pool. Built in 1815, the site first opened as a river-fed pool, and subsequently enjoyed a colourful history through the Victorian era to its heyday in the 1970s until Cleveland Pools eventually closed to swimming in 1984.
For a short time, it was used as a trout farm, but it was threatened with demolition as an alternative
to repair. In 2003, the owner, Bath and Northeast Somerset Council, put the site up for sale, and it was added to the English Heritage Buildings at Risk Register.
Thanks to the determination of a group of local people, the Cleveland Pools Trust (CPT) was formed in 2004 to rescue the pools from dilapidation. In 2006 its listed building status was raised from II to II*.
Thousands of supporters from far and wide have joined the campaign to date and today the CPT has a diverse team of more than 100 volunteers who give their time freely: fundraising, engaging with the community, managing heritage assets, organising events and publicising progress.
Restoration work is due to complete in the summer of 2022.
For more information on the restoration of Cleveland Pools visit: http://www.clevelandpools.org.uk/restoration
