Posts Tagged Swimming

Bramley baths campaigners prepare to make takeover bid

Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on October 10, 2011

Russian steam room will be run by people power if Leeds city council accepts local residents' business plan

The campaign to save Bramley's historic but cosy public baths in Leeds, complete with their exotic Russian steam room, has moved up another step.

John reported tirelessly on this in the days of Guardian Leeds and we swam together at a Tweet-in memorable for the excellence of the cake supplied by supporters.

I am very biased on this issue because I learned to swim at Bramley, helped by the strange diet of Wagon Wheel biscuits and Horlicks tablets served up in the mid-1950s by Leeds Corporation. But there is a problem in the gap between delight in the interest and pleasure of both the building and the baths, and the actual number of people who use the place.

Now a band of Bramlegians and local groups have got together under the umbrella of the Friends of Bramley Baths to prepare a business plan for a local management takeover. This takes up Leeds city council's request earlier this year for expressions of interest in such a 'community asset transfer' for the baths, whose opening hours were cut earlier this year from 80 hours a week to 49.

The Friends believe their plan has the makings of a new regime which would "restore the Baths into a thriving centre for health, socialising and fitness", presenting the case to the council before the end of the year and taking over management during 2012 if all goes well. There will be a public meeting with a film about the baths and a contribution from the local West Leeds MP Rachel Reeves from 6-30 – 7.30pm on 20 October at Bramley St Peter's Primary School in Hough Lane.

John Battle, Reeves' predecessor and chair of the Friends who want to restore full opening times and have national support from the Victorian Society, says Put your cozzies where your campaigning is:

We are asking people in Leeds who use or love this beautiful place, to support our efforts by continuing to use it as much as possible in the coming months. We are delighted that Leeds City Council has accepted our initial plan and is supporting us to prepare a full proposal that will show how this asset could be successfully run by a community group as a socially-minded enterprise. Bramley Baths is important to local residents; it is also an architectural gem of wider interest and historical significance. We are not seeking simply to save a building, but to ensure that Bramley Baths serves its local community well; an affordable place where young children can continue to take their first strokes and a place for relaxation, health, fitness and fun for young and old alike.

Rebecca Whittington, 30 and a Friends member, says:

This issue has united a lot of people in the local area who are focused on keeping this useful and important place open. Bramley Baths is a place for people to get fit and stay healthy, but it's also a valuable community hub. We represent a group of people with a wide set of skills and experience, in running businesses, charities and community groups. With the support of the local community and schools, and the expertise of established organisations like Barca, Bramley Elderly Action and West Leeds Academy, we believe we can turn Bramley Baths around in the near future.

The baths opened 107 years ago and are one of only 13 Victorian and Edwardian examples still on the go - their plight has parallels elsewhere, including many more modern public baths which are targets of the public spending cuts.

Martin Wainwright

Architecture, Blogposts, Cuts and closures, guardian.co.uk, Leeds, Public finance, Public sector cuts, Society, Swimming, Swimming holidays, UK news

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London waves hello to Zaha Hadid’s Olympic centrepiece

Posted by The Sheet in Architecture News on November 11, 2009

• Frame of aquatic centre's roof is now in place
• £10m is pledged to get more women playing sport

The wavy roof of the distinctive aquatics centre that Olympic organisers hope will house a string of British medal winners, including Rebecca Adlington, was revealed today, as £10m in lottery funding was poured into persuading more women to follow her lead.

Swimming is the number one participation sport among women, and Adlington is one of the stars who organisers, who brought the Olympics to London partly on the promise of leaving a legacy of sports participation, hope will help inspire more physical activity among women.

The unveiling of the framework for the sweeping 160-metre roof on the £244m aquatics centre, designed by Zaha Hadid, is seen as a key moment in the Olympic Delivery Authority's "big build". During the games the centre will house two 50-metre pools, a 25-metre diving pool and 17,500 spectators.

Amid a sea of functional designs, the ODA hopes the centre will act as an inspiring "gateway to the games", the first thing many visitors to the Olympic park will see as they exit Stratford International station. The roof structure, which will now be covered by aluminium, has taken since March to lift into place.

The £10m in funding announced today by Sport England will be concentrated on projects that encourage take-up among women from disadvantaged communities, and helping women with children under 16 play more sport.

"In both those areas, they experience barriers where money and carefully targeted support can make a real difference," said Sport England's chief executive, Jennie Price.

Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe said: "Our sportswomen have had a bumper year and I hope the successes of stars like Jessica Ennis and the England women's cricket team will inspire more women across the country to make that important first step. There is a sport out there for everyone and this investment will help clubs reach out to women who haven't found theirs yet."

At present, fewer than one in eight women regularly play sport in England. One in five men play sport regularly and the gender gap is growing, according to Sport England figures.

"What we have to do is make it easy, accessible and attractive, and to try and play to the kind of things women will be interested in – things you can do in a group and things that have a strong social dimension are really attractive to most women," said Price.

The aquatic centre building, originally budgeted at £73m, will be reduced to a 3,500-capacity venue after the games. Sport England contributed £40m to the funding of the venue, partly to ensure it had moveable floors making it suitable for community use after the games. But some local boroughs are still angry that it will not contain a leisure pool.

Today's £10m funding round is the second to be announced this year, with the first targeted at encouraging sport in rural areas. The funding is on top of the £480m over four years that Sport England is investing through sport governing bodies. It has faced some criticism for failing to make much progress towards its government target of getting one million more people playing sport three or more times a week by 2013. Its latest progress will be measured by the third annual "active people" survey, published next month.

According to Sport England, swimming is the favourite participation sport among women, followed by athletics, cycling, equestrian sports and badminton.