|
|
|
Kentish Town Baths reopens to the public
THREE and a half years after closing and a £25.3million refit later, historic Kentish Town Baths reopened to the public on Monday.
The Grade II listed building, in Grafton Place, Kentish Town, originally opened as St Pancras Public Baths in 1901.
But the building was in need of a major refurbishment by the time it closed in February 2007, with swimmers sharing the centrepiece Willes Pool with scores of roosting pigeons.
Now the baths - renamed Kentish Town Sports Centre - have been transformed into a state of the art leisure and fitness hub capable of catering for the needs of up to 500 people at a time.
Councillor Tulip Siddiq, Camden Council's cabinet member for culture, said: "I am delighted to open Kentish Town Sports Centre on time and on cost. The project has been a great success, bringing the facility up to a modern standard, while preserving the Victorian history of the building.
"This centre is popular and I am looking forward to seeing schools, user groups and the community enjoying all the high-quality leisure facilities on offer."
Floods of natural light pour in through the building's many glass atriums - most notably in the breathtaking Willes Pool, a steadfastly non-Olympic 33 and a third yards long.
It took five miles of scaffolding to reach and restore the original roof beams from the bottom of the drained pool during the refurbishment. But the results are spectacular - even if the lovingly restored wooden spectators' gallery is out of bounds to the public for health and safety reasons.
Gary Dark, of not-for-profit firm Greenwich Leisure Ltd, which is running the new baths on behalf of Camden Council, said: "That's a decision not taken by the council. You may not be able to use it but you get a feel for what it was like for Victorians swimming here.
"They literally had pigeons in the roof before. If you don't swim backstroke you'll be wanting to learn just to see those original beams and fittings."
As well as two other pools for learners, school groups and mothers and toddlers, the baths also boast a massive gym boasting 90 different gym machines, - some with their own TVs and iPod docks.
There are two sets of "wet" and "dry" male and female changing rooms for the pool and gym, as well as massive family cubicles, a mirrored fitness studio and even an interactive Wii fitness area to lure in the teenagers.
The eco-friendly building is fully disabled accessible - right down to the Braille gym machine screens and specialist keep-fit equipment - and there is a speedy online booking system to bypass the queues.
Mr Dark said: "People who want to work out at lunchtime, the last thing they want to do is spend 10 minutes in a queue. But when the over-60s come here for a swim its part of their day and they want that interaction. They want that contact with our staff."
It seems every last detail has been thought of - including private swimming sessions where "smart glass" in the viewing gallery becomes dark-tinted.
"Some religions require privacy and can't show their body in public," said Mr Dark. "A detail like that makes a big difference."
He added: "We've already got 35 school sessions booked for September. They're coming back from Swiss Cottage pool and places outside the borough."
The project has been part-financed by the building of 10 new flats in the building - seven for private ownership and three for a housing association.
Land with planning permission to build four town houses will also be sold off to offset the multi-million pound refurbishment costs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|