Six years ago, in the summer of 2002, I was swimming in the Ipswich Lido known as Broomhill Pool. This is a Grade II Listed, Olympic-sized pool with diving boards and the only one of its kind in the county of Suffolk. However, in the autumn of 2002, when the gates were shut at the end of the season , rumours started to circulate that it would never open again, even though there was no official confirmation.
A petition was started by Mike Read, (a champion Channel Swimmer who had used the Broomhill Lido for years for his Channel training) and thousands of Ipswich residents signed up. A group initially calling itself the Friends of Broomhill Pool was formed, to formally lobby Ipswich Borough Council for more information about the pool's future: I tabled my first Question in November 2002 for a meeting of the full Council.
Thus begun the campaign and little did we know, at the time, what a long haul it was going to be. The current situation is that a bid for Heritage Lottery Funding was submitted at the end of March with the outcome due in the autumn.
A total of £3.9 million is needed to see this lido restored and re-opened and Ipswich Borough Council have pledged £1million if the rest of the money can be found from other sources! This offer remains very much a two-edged sword, in my opinion, because the option of demolition has still not been ruled out by the Council and if the HLF bid does fail, then that £1million fund will be used for the pool's destruction rather than its restoration. Only time will tell.
A petition was started by Mike Read, (a champion Channel Swimmer who had used the Broomhill Lido for years for his Channel training) and thousands of Ipswich residents signed up. A group initially calling itself the Friends of Broomhill Pool was formed, to formally lobby Ipswich Borough Council for more information about the pool's future: I tabled my first Question in November 2002 for a meeting of the full Council.
Thus begun the campaign and little did we know, at the time, what a long haul it was going to be. The current situation is that a bid for Heritage Lottery Funding was submitted at the end of March with the outcome due in the autumn.
A total of £3.9 million is needed to see this lido restored and re-opened and Ipswich Borough Council have pledged £1million if the rest of the money can be found from other sources! This offer remains very much a two-edged sword, in my opinion, because the option of demolition has still not been ruled out by the Council and if the HLF bid does fail, then that £1million fund will be used for the pool's destruction rather than its restoration. Only time will tell.
