Grant brings pool dream closer

CAMPAIGNERS hoping to rebuild Broomhill swimming pool in Ipswich have taken a significant step forward after securing a £58,000 grant to carry out a full feasibility study on its future.

Broomhill has not been open to the public since 2002 because it is structurally unsafe - now the building could be handed over to the Broomhill Trust to bring forward restoration.

The cost of rebuilding the popular complex is uncertain. The Broomhill Trust, and official Ipswich Borough Council estimates, put the cost at around £3 million.

There have been suggestions that a full survey of the tank might find it is not in as bad a condition as thought and the cost could be less than that.

But other council officials and engineers fear the cost could be much higher than suggested and have suggested that the total cost could be as high as £7 million.

The feasibility study, which can now go ahead following the grant from the borough council, should give the the first real indication of the cost of any project.

If the cost is identified as being in the region of £3 million, the Trust will then try to raise money to carry out the work.

The borough council has promised to make a payment of £1 million towards the cost of the work if the rest of the money is successfully raised from businesses, public donations, and loans.

Broomhill Pool Trust chairman Mike Cook said: “We have a clear plan of action and an excellent professional team to carry out the feasibility study.

“The study is to be completed over the next 9 months. Much will depend on the structural state of the pool since the last MLM Engineers survey was in 1998.

“We remain cautiously optimistic that the pool will be deemed salvageable, and that we will achieve our objective to preserve this wonderful pool for the enjoyment and health of future generations."

Weblink: www.savebroomhillpool.org