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Swimmers march to save their pool

12 September 2007

Local campaigners will be slipping on their goggles and flippers to march through Camberwell this Saturday as part of their campaign to convince Southwark Council to secure the future of their Victorian swimming baths.

Southwark Council has already allocated £1.5 million to maintain Camberwell Leisure Centre, however this falls well short of the amount needed to refurbish the Grade II-listed swimming pool, which was built in 1891 and is the earliest surviving building by architects Henry Spalding and Alfred Cross. Campaigners fear that, unless the Council makes more funding available, the baths will not be kept in use for more than a few years and the building which has served the local community for well over a century could go the way of many other historic swimming pools around the country which have been closed and left to rot.

‘We’ve seen too many Local Authorities let these inspiring buildings crumble,’ said Heloise Brown, Conservation Adviser of the Victorian Society. ‘Public swimming pools like Camberwell Baths provide a service that many people could not otherwise afford. Exercise is only a small part of this. The baths bind local communities together and connect them to their past. They also offer the only opportunity that many people have to interact with historic architecture on a regular basis. It’s vital that Camberwell Baths are saved.’

Last year the Victorian Society held Making a Splash: the national pool campaigners’ conference. The conference report is available to download.