Swindon's Health Hydro pool work is almost completed
If funding is approved, work will start in early 2027 which will see the pool closed again for a further 12 to 18 months.Work was initially due to be completed on phase one in late 2024 but the discovery of asbestos and moisture issues delayed its progress.Once it is reopened improvements to the Victorian building will include a new gym, modernised accessible changing facilities, a ventilation system and a new engine room.
Talking about phase two, project manager, Doug Gray said: "That's not confirmed yet but that's the plan to get funding for phase two which will deal with the swimming pool itself."In phase one we're dealing with the plant side of it which will get it all up and running but from a decorative and aesthetic point of view, we want to take that back to its original form should funding be approved."And if approved, the original decorative brickwork around the stained-glass window could be revealed after decades of being hidden by peeling paint.The steel trusses holding up the roof will also be painted in a colour more reminiscent of the hydro's early 20th-Century heyday.Other parts of the extensive plan are less obvious, but include improved ventilation of the main pool hall, better heating and cooling and better drainage of the pool.
Councillor Marina Strinkovsky said: "Everything about it is amazing…the scale of it, the size of it and the history."It's the longest continuously operating Victorian Baths in the country but it had to adapt to the needs of the community and to changing times."
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