Stirchley Baths---Anyone Remember Them

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-14774378

Used to visit it a lot in the eighties, to service the emergency lighting.
Interesting that it can be re-opened as a community centre but not as a swmming bath.

It's one of the few Baths in Birmingham I have never been inside through either work or leisure. What I did learn through working in a lot of these places was that most old baths leak and therefore this caused lots of other problems. This is why most of them close.

What I cant understand is, why with all the advances in tanking that there have been why there is no quick fix for this sort of problem?

Phil

Denise

I think there is, but given the revenue from these small baths it probably costs too much to maintain and staff the baths up to todays HSE code. So the leaking pool syndrome is used as an excuse to keep them closed.

Phil

Interesting that Tesco again has fingers in the pie. They seem to court controversy wherever they go. They've bought an old B&Q site here in Southend in a prominent town centre location. Immediately, in order to make it work, the suggestion of using re-routing an exit through housing is made and a struggling retail area has even more pressure put on it as Tesco's all inclusive offering strikes at it's very roots. Goodbye, swimming pool. Hello mediocrity.

Posted by handlebar

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Interesting that Tesco again has fingers in the pie. They seem to court controversy wherever they go. They've bought an old B&Q site here in Southend in a prominent town centre location. Immediately, in order to make it work, the suggestion of using re-routing an exit through housing is made and a struggling retail area has even more pressure put on it as Tesco's all inclusive offering strikes at it's very roots. Goodbye, swimming pool. Hello mediocrity.

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I fear that you are right Handlebar, too many of these stories appear too often. SB

Other than leaking tanks, the only other structural reason for closure, I am aware of, is the corrosion of the building caused by the atmosphere in swimminmg baths.
I have seen RSJs swollen with rust, conduits rotted through, walls bulging with tiles being pushed off and brickwork erupting. Which is why I am surprised that the building can be reused.

I see plans are in the offing to turn more than 20 pools over to private operators. Councillor Martin Mullaney says that restrictions will be in place to ensure that prices do not go through the roof.

My first question is who will be setting the prices and by who's standards will they not be going through the roof? The poor slob on £15-£20,000 a year or Councillor Mullaney on £100,000 plus a year?

My second question would be, what happens to the money raised by this sell off? Will it go into a fund for any future work required by these pools?

Phil

Please don't call me a slob.

Ah well if you will insist on only working two days a week.

Phil

Posted by phil

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Ah well if you will insist on only working two days a week.

Phil

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Don't exagerate, it's really two Half days a week.

It may add to only two half days but it takes me six and a half days to acheive it.

I recently passed Stirchly Baths and noticed that the refurb works there are finally finished.

Where is Stirchley

No such place. I just noticed the heading was mispelt as well as my post.
Stirchley is on Pershore Road between Selly Park and Cotteridge, just a stones throw from Cadbury's