Further Delays!

By FoMRB | February 4, 2012

Here is the latest news from BCC Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture, Cllr Martin Mullaney regarding Moseley Road Baths, and once again, it’s not good. I’m sure that we all share Councillor Mullaney’s frustration at the ongoing closure and we would welcome any thoughts that you have.

Update on Moseley Road Baths – 3rd February 2012

I’ve bad news on the re-opening of Moseley Road baths. The Council’s Health and Safety officers are now insisting that the ceiling of Pool 2 is painted to prevent flaking paint falling into the pool before it re-opens. This means that the re-opening has now been pushed back to the start of April.

I cannot express how furious (and upset) I am with this news and I have made my feelings clear to the Council’s Property Team who are ultimately responsible for the building.

As users of this historic swimming pool will know, the building closed in December 2010 to replace a completely rotten steel lintel above the fire exit door to Pool 2. What was supposed to be a six week closure, has been continually added to as Health and Safety find another issue that needs fixing. These have included removing asbestos from the basement and replacing temporary scaffolding with permanent scaffolding also in the basement.

All work in the basement will be finished on Friday 10th February and it was anticipated the building could open soon afterwards.

However, in the last few weeks, Property Services and Hall Green constituency office have raised concerns about the high level of flaking paint on the ceiling. To repaint the ceiling will involve emptying the pool of water; completely filling the room with scaffolding and taking a minimum of 8 weeks to do.

I have challenged the need to repaint this ceiling, since from my perspective the baths have been closed long enough and this constant discovery by Health and Safety of yet another issue, just as we are about to re-open has to stop.

Health and Safety have today insisted that the ceiling needs repainting before the public are allowed back. They have tested the paint and shown that the flaking paint is pulling off bits of the lead based paint underneath. Based on their analysis, the level of lead in the samples tested are so high that a volume equivalent to 24 grains of sugar falling into the pool would make the pool unsafe to swim. Please don’t shot me at this point, I am just the messager.

It is for that reason and with great reluctance, I have given the go ahead this afternoon to start the process of re-painting the ceiling. The Properties Team are assuring me that the contractors will be able to start erecting the scaffolding on Monday 13th February.

Martin Mullaney

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A few reactions to recent news…

By FoMRB | January 24, 2012

Thanks so much for all your supportive comments in response to the reopening of the Baths being delayed once again. We thought that it was appropriate to share some of your thoughts – please do keep them coming via e-mail or using the comments section below. We know full well how passionate you all are about the building and swimming, but feel it’s important that we convey this to others as well. So, here are a selection of your comments:

  • This seems to be poor management again. Is it deliberate incompetence?  Perhaps officers should be personally liable for the results of ongoing neglect of this important building.
  • Perhaps ‘they’ should have the lost revenue from the Baths being closed stopped from their salaries
  • Sad to see the reopening date keeps going back (now April/May).  It’s as though any excuse (now flaking paint) to delay opening.
  • Councillor Kennedy asks does the pool sit as a sport or heritage site – I say it must sit as both.  Keep up the pressure on them. This building must not be allowed to close as a pool.
  • Labour Councillors want us to believe that lead paint was being used in 2004?  They must think we’re mugs!
  • Anyone fancy a sweepstake on next excuse for not opening the Moseley Rd baths. My moneys on a blown light bulb in reception.
  • Hmm, did they confirm which year? Let’s hope it’s 2012. This family needs to swim.
  • Thanks also to Moseley Shoals who sent us an e-mail outlining the impact the closure has had on their swimming club, making it nigh on impossible to swim as a club.

Of course, using this blog is nowhere near as effective as the public contacting the press and Councillors directly – follow this link for details of Councillors.  Hall Green Constituency Councillors will be voting on the options in March, so please address e-mails to them.  Cllr Tony Kennedy chairs the group and Cllr Martin Mullaney is the current Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture.

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First News of Heritage Lottery Bid for Baths

By FoMRB | January 24, 2012

We have received some information from Councillor Martin Mullaney, BCC Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture regarding the Council’s plans to submit a bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the long overdue restoration of Moseley Road Baths

“We are about to start work on the Heritage Lottery bid to restore the baths. Our proposal is to submit a HLF bid in April. The bid would be for phase 1 of the restoration, totalling £8million. The £8million will include the following:
• Making the entire building stable, by completely fixing the roof and stopping any more leaks; removing all the dry rot from the caretakers area. This will stop any further decay in the building.
• Pool 2 – the present pool will remain an operating pool
• Pool 1 – the ornate First Class/Gala pool will be boarded over and used for community events. In phase 2 of the restoration we would aim to get this back as a swimming pool
• Possible installation of a Combined Heat and Power system, which would heat this building and all surrounding buildings.

Bidding for Heritage Lottery monies is a lengthy process and if successful, the earliest we could start on phase 1 of the restoration is 2014. It is estimated work would take two years to complete.”

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Latest update on closure of Moseley Road Baths

By FoMRB | January 21, 2012

We have received the following update from Cllr Martin Mullaney, BCC Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture:

Update on Moseley Road Baths – 19th January 2012

The final phase of re-opening the baths began on Monday 16th January with contractors moving into the basement to begin work. They will be replacing temporary scaffolding that holds up the floor in numerous places, with permanent scaffolding. This work will take four to five weeks to complete and we are hoping that the baths should be able to re-open at the end of February.

What has confused the issue and the reason for the sudden announcement that the baths won’t re-open until April or May, is concern over flaking paint from the ceiling in Pool 2. Users of this pool prior to its closure in December 2010, will have noticed the flaking paint even then. It was particularly bad on the lower sections of the curved ceiling, on the right hand side as you entered the pool (see the photo here).

The pool was last painted in 2003 and the flaking paint was due to the very high humidity in the pool area, which was caused by the staff not turning on the mechanical ventilation fans whilst people were in the pool. The staff wouldn’t turn the fans on, because they were very noisy due to worn bearings. The bearings have now been replaced and hopefully such rapid flaking of the paint will not happen again.

Since the closure of the pool in December 2010 and the resulting dryer atmosphere, the paint flaking has accelerated to such an extent that officers in Hall Green constituency are concerned that flakes may fall into swimmers eyes. The staff in the pool have removed most of the flaking paint, but some still exists in the harder to reach parts of the ceiling.

To completely repaint the ceiling would cost £65,000 and take over six weeks to complete, thus taking the re-opening up until April or May. We have £80,000 ‘sticking plaster’ money which could fund this re-painting, however I would rather focus this money on fixing the roof of leaks – especially after all the recent lead thefts – and keep this building going until its big restoration in 2014.

Mindful that the pool has been closed for over a year and being quite familiar with the level of flaking, I have disputed the need to repaint the entire ceiling. As a result, I attended a meeting this morning with a Health and Safety officer to decide if the flaking paint was a concern. The officer said that the level of flaking is not of concern.

As a result of this, I have stressed to officers that the pool must re-open once the basement work is finished at the end of February. We will repaint the worse affected lower sections of the ceiling and this must be completed by the end of February. The rest of the £80,000 must be focused on the roof and again these roof works must not delay the
re-opening of the pool at the end of February.

Cllr. Mullaney’s website also carries a report of Tuesday’s Hall Green Constituency meeting.

And here’s a report from the Birmingham Post.

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Report on Tuesday’s Hall Green Constituency meeting

By FoMRB | January 19, 2012

Tuesday’s Hall Green Constituency meeting was, to say the last, a stormy affair but it was heartening to see so many Moseley Road Baths supporters making their voices heard following the latest developments concerning the building and the future of swimming in the area.

Thus it is sad and utterly frustrating to report that the meeting was told by Peter Hobbs, Service Intergration Manager for the Hall Green Constituency, that the re-opening date has been put back yet again, this time until April or May. This, the meeting was told, was due to the need to strip and repaint the ceiling of Pool 2 which is flaking and is thus considered a health hazard. Mr. Hobbs estimated that this work would cost between £70-80,000 including the erection of scaffolding.

Secondly, the meeting voted to produce a report outlining future options for Moseley Road Baths, in time for the next meeting, in March (the online Council agenda promised this report would be available at the meeting but work on it does not appear to have got underway). The main aim of this document appears to be to consider whether or not the baths should be operated by the Constituency and how they can be managed more economically, and though, when pressed, the Chairman, Councillor Tony Kennedy and those Councillors who supported the production of the document, insisted all of the options to be considered must have swimming at their heart, Councillor Kennedy also stated that the options review would be ‘a complex document’ adding, ‘does the pool sit as part of a sport or heritage facility.’

Clearly, there is much here of concern and we will update you as soon as we hear more and please let us know your views.

–
Have you seen our ‘Virtual Tour’ of Moseley Road Baths?
www.moseleyroadbaths.co.uk

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Important meeting on Baths’ future 7pm Tuesday January 17th

By FoMRB | January 15, 2012

As some of you may have read in last Thursday’s Birmingham Mail, the future of Moseley Road Baths has been thrown into serious doubt by a suggestion that the Hall Green Constituency may refuse to sanction the pool’s reopening even once the final stage of the refurbishment works are completed in mid-late February.

A paper outlining ‘Future Options for Moseley Road Baths’ is to be discussed by the Constituency’s 12 local councillors at this Tuesday’s Hall Green Constituency meeting (January 17th, 7pm) at Hall Green Library, Stratford Road (near to the junction with Cole Bank Road, and almost opposite the Horse Shoes pub, buses 11 or 6 if using public transport). It is listed as Agenda item 10. It is quite likely that this report will only be made available shortly before the meeting so we have very little detail at present but what we have read and what we have been told over the last two days causes us much concern.

These meetings allow public intervention so there will be an opportunity to have your say. Please come along if you can and spread the word among other MRB users as this meeting could go along way to determining both the short and long term future of the baths.

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Baths reopening set for late February

By FoMRB | December 27, 2011

‘Tis the season for good tidings, so it’s with heavy hearts that we have to share the news that Moseley Road Baths’ reopening has been put back once again until late February.  It’s now over a year since the Baths closed, supposedly for five weeks, and we’re desperate to get back in the pool!  The Hall Green Constituency has had no swimming provision at all in this period meaning that children and adults alike are missing out.  2012, the Olympic Year will see us desperately lobbying for basic provision – we hope that you can join us in that.

Here is an update from Cllr Mullaney

Update on Moseley Road baths –23rd December 2011 – Good and Bad news

There is good news and bad news with regards the re-opening of Moseley Road baths.

For some background, my last blog update was on 19th November and can be seen at http://martinmullaney.blogspot.com/2011/11/update-on-moseley-road-baths-19th.html

The bad news is that the re-opening date for the swimming baths has been pushed back by a month to the end of February 2012. This delay has been caused by the Council’s own bureaucratic procedures in releasing the money to do the next stage of work. Anyone who meets me over the Christmas period will notice various bald spots on my head, caused by me pulling my hair out over the last few weeks trying to get this money released. We are hoping to have this money signed off in the next week.

The basement is now clear of asbestos. If the report releasing the next stage of money is signed off next week, then the company installing the permanent structural scaffolding into the basement will move onto site on 16th January. Their work will take 4 to 5 weeks to complete.

The good news is that we will be having the Pool 2 ceiling repainted during this closure period. Anyone who used Pool 2 prior to its closure last December, will remember that the paint on the ceiling was badly flaking. This flaking was caused by the high humidity in the pool, which in turn was caused by the poor ventilation. When the pool is re-opened the ventilation will be significantly improved, since the mechanical issues in the ventilation fans have now been fixed. So hopefully, this flaking will not be a problem for a number of years.

By re-painting the pool now – and the money for this will hopefully be signed off next week – this will prevent the pool being closed later in the year due to the flakes falling off into the pool.

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On track for January reopening

By FoMRB | December 20, 2011

We have learnt from Pool staff that the scaffolding company are beginning to put scaffolding in the basement under Pool 2 this week. This work is estimated to take 5 weeks so it is anticipated that the building will reopen to the public for swimming at the end of January.

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Happy 5th Birthday!

By FoMRB | November 28, 2011

The Friends of Moseley Road Baths group is 5 years old! We were born at a public meeting attended by around 100 people, held at Moseley Road Methodist Church on Monday, November 27th 2006.

In an age when many people have such full work, family and social commitments it takes a lot to keep a community group such as ours going. Many well-intentioned organisations never make it to their fifth birthday, so it’s testament to those volunteers who give so freely of their time for a cause they feel passionately about that the group has made it this far and is still going strong. We’ve got a core of around a dozen regulars and others who get involved on a more ad hoc basis for events such as our annual Memories and Memorabilia Day, and conducting interviews for our Heritage Lottery Funded Pool of Memories project.

We have an excellent relationship with the staff at Moseley Road Baths, not least manager Kishor (Dave) Flora and have generally found the local media to be supportive of the building and increasingly aware of its historical importance, both locally and nationally. There have been many highlights during our first five years, but celebrating Moseley Road Baths’ 100th birthday in October 2007 with a visit from the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress, establishing our online Virtual Tour and receiving a substantial grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund to research the building’s history, interview past and present MRB users and help local schoolchildren make films about the baths and their social history, are perhaps amongst the most memorable.

We’ve met some amazing people, such as octogenarian Philip Morris, who came back to undertake a fundraising swim at the baths in 2009, the first time he’d returned since the mid-1930s! Howard Edwards and Doris Gamble (he played in dance bands at the baths, she taught youngsters to swim) are two more who come to mind, Then there are the others, such as Celia Reeves of Anderton Park School, Val and Bron from Balsall Heath Local History Society, and Ian Dungavell of The Victorian Society as well as our friends at the wonderful Victoria Baths in Manchester. None are regular Moseley Road Baths swimmers, but all are both passionate about the building and understanding of its vital importance as a community swimming pool. And a special mention for Played in Britain series editor Simon Inglis and long-term Moseley Road Baths campaigner Selina Stewart – without their enthusiasm that first meeting would never have taken place.

We must also mention Cllr. Martin Mullaney, Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture. Although the long-term future of Moseley Road Baths is not yet assured, Martin has proved to be a determined supporter of the baths and has battled sceptical colleagues who might have used the structural problems experienced at MRB this year as an excuse to close the building down for good.

Finally, and undoubtedly most important of all, are those Moseley Road Baths swimmers and bathers past and present who support our events, come on our tours, join our mailing list, follow our news on Facebook, Twitter and via our website, and who can’t wait for early 2012 when Moseley Road Baths once again re-opens for business.

The Friends of Moseley Road Baths will be holding a 5th Birthday/Christmas Party at the Old Moseley Arms in Tindal Street (off Edward Road), Balsall Heath from 8pm on Friday, December 9th 2011 – we hope to see as many of you there as possible.

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Metal thieves stealing far more than lead

By FoMRB | November 21, 2011

We’ve received this update from Cllr Mullaney about work to Moseley Road Baths.  It seems that despite the work to get the building back up and running that determined thieves have been working equally hard to steal lead and copper from the roof.  This is not only a case of stealing a bit of metal, it’s stealing our heritage and could potentially rob the entire community of the facility.  Please do look at the photos we’ve linked to, it’s truly galling.

Needless to say, if you hear or see anything then please shout up… anyhow, onto the update, copied from Cllr Mullaney’s blog.

——————-

There is good news and bad news with regards the re-opening of Moseley Road baths in mid to late January 2012.

For some background, my last blog update was on 1st November and can be seen at http://martinmullaney.blogspot.com/2011/11/update-on-moseley-road-baths-1-st.html

The good news is that we are still on target to re-open the swimming baths in mid to late January 2012. The company removing the asbestos in the basement, finished on Friday 18th November. There will now be two days of inspection and air testing for asbestos and if this is successful, work will begin on installing the permanent scaffolding in the basement – this will take 6 weeks to complete.

The bad news is that the roof of the baths is being visited by metal thieves on a nightly basis. I attach photos (links here, here, here and here) showing the damage they are causing, but as you can see they are doing the following:
a)    Stealing the lead flashing, which in turn will introduce large leaks into the roof infrastructure, causing more rot
b)    Displacing roof slates or putting their foot through roof sections, as they remove the lead flashing, which in turn is creating more roof leaks.
c)    Trying to remove the cooper lightning conductor at the base of the boiler house chimney. If they succeed is doing this, this could be catastrophic, since the chimney would explode if hit by a lighting bolt.

Stopping the metal thieves is proving difficult, since they come with ladders and are prepared to clamber over the roofs, putting their own lives at risk, to get to the metal they want.

We have met with English Heritage who have given us permission to replace all lead flashing with a substitute material called ‘turncoat’ stainless steel. This material looks like lead after weathering, but has the advantage of being very difficult to remove. Lead is soft and rips – perfect for the metal thief. Stainless steel is stiff, can be nailed in place and has to cut by hacksaw.

With the £80,000 for ‘sticking plaster’ works we has successful received from corporate finance, we will be replacing all lead flashing.

With regards the Heritage Lottery bid, we are aiming to put the bid in, in April 2012. However, I’m in discussions with Corporate Finance to understand what level of match funding the Council are willing to offer – this is a pre-requirement for any HLF submission.

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