![[Logo: The Clifton Pool]](images/poolsign.gif)
|
|
Home |
The Campaign |
History |
News |
Pictures |
Links |
|
Guest Book |
Contact us |
Site Index |
Sovereign withdrew their application for listed building consent. See BBC report. Good news!
The council's planning committee will be meeting to discuss Sovereign's application. The meeting will be held at the Armada House Conference Centre, Telephone Avenue (off Marsh Street) at 5:00 p.m. The recommendation of the planning officers is to refuse. Good news! Please try and turn up to this if you can.
We are currently distributing the following as a leaflet in the Clifton area:
We believe that the Clifton Open-Air Pool, built in 1849 and Listed Grade 11*, can be retained and re-used, with its buildings, to provide a sustainable, local Community Amenity. It appears to be financially viable to repair the Pool complex, provided the existing vacant part of the North end of the site, is developed as 6 flats and the project continues to receive support from English Heritage. Bristol Visual & Environmental Buildings Preservation Trust (BVEBT) is currently trying to buy the site from Sovereign Housing Assn., which has applied to demolish most of the complex (Appln. 02/02908/4A/C can be seen at Brunel House, St George's Road, BS1).
The intention is for the renovated Pool to be open to swimmers from June to September, with other facilities open most of the year. Membership is planned to cost much less than local Fitness Clubs, with an annual fee of £35 or so and a median charge of c £1.50 for a swim, though that depends on having some voluntary staff.
WE URGENTLY NEED SOME FEED-BACK on what ancillary uses we might include in the limited space and wonder if you could provide answers to the questions below to help us.
QUESTIONNAIRE
If your answer to Q4. or 5 is "yes", please supply your name, address, and telephone number
Return your answers to:
Friends of Clifton Pool,
532, 14 Clifton Down Road,
BS8 4BF (next to Baker Dolphin)
or email us your answers.
Public Meeting, St. Paul's Church Rooms
The meeting attracted a number of local residents. Phil Goldsbrough and Ben Appleby from the pool campaign outlined the history of the campaign and the next steps respectively. Dorothy Brown of the Bristol Visual & Environmental Buildings Trust outlined the trust's ideas to save the pool. This was followed by a lively discussion about the pool's future.
CLIFTON POOL LISTED BUILDING CONSENT APPLICATION NUMBER 02/02908/LA/C
Sovereign Housing Association has applied for Listed Building Consent to build three town houses, a block of new flats and convert the main Oakfield Place building to flats. This is more or less the same scheme that was originally conceived in 1997 before the Building was listed Grade II*.
This application is in spite of an offer to buy the site by Bristol Visual & Environmental Buildings Trust (BVEBT), a long established charitable Buildings Preservation Trust with a proven track record in saving listed buildings. It has undertaken successful projects in Old Market & Frome, as well as rescuing Acton Court. BVEBT plan to use option 4 of a feasibility study prepared by Ferguson Mann Architects as the basis of their development plan. This includes an Open Air Pool of c 20metres in length, much needed community facilities, two converted flats, and 6 new flats on the tepid bath site. After restoration the complex would be managed by a local charitable trust.
If you object to the loss of the pool and community activity space WRITE or EMAIL URGENTLY Bristol City Council at the following
addresses, quoting the above application number:
Bristol City Council,
Central Area Planning,
Brunel House
St Georges Rd,
Bristol
BS1 5UY
or email central_area_planning_team@bristol-city.gov.uk
Please give your own reasons for objecting, but these may include the following points:
Despite two offers from the Bristol Visual and Environmental Buildings Preservation Trust, Sovereign Housing has re-submitted its plans to re-develop the pool site for housing. We will add more details as soon as we have them.
The Clifton Pool has now attracted the attention of the Bristol Visual and Environmental Buildings Preservation Trust. This Trust has been operating in and around Bristol for many years and has a long track record. Much of their recent work has been done in Frome in Somerset with previous projects in both Old Market and St Michaels Hill in Bristol.
Dorothy Brown, the Trust Secretary, is a respected expert on old buildings and is a member of the Bristol City Council's Conservation Advisory Panel.
The Trust has submitted an offer to Sovereign Housing Association to purchase the site and develop it in accordance with the fallback option within the Feasibility Report.
This would involve the restoration of the open-air swimming pool and existing buildings. These would contain two maisonettes to provide the site with income, together with normal pool facilities and community space.
The far end of the site would be developed as six flats which will provide capital funds to fund part of the restoration.
The Trust hopes to be successful in applying to both English Heritage and Bristol City Council for grants which, together with a public appeal, should provide sufficient funds to do a first class job.
The amount offered by the trust Sovereign Housing Association is extremely similar to the amount that Sovereign paid for the site with Planning Permission but at present they do not seem willing to accept it.
Sovereign Housing put the pool up for sale on the open market.
"The Lido", a short film shot in the pool by Harvest Films will be shown at Brief Encounters, the Bristol short film festival.
The results of the feasibility study were presented to the Bristol Building Preservation Trust at a meeting in the Council House. Four options were presented, of which the proposal to develop the site as a commercial leisure centre seemed to have most support. The Bristol BPT will most likely carry out the development with a specific end-user contracted to buy the site on completion. The campaign to save the pool intends to maintain its influence and to try to negotiate some level of community access.
Harvest Films shoot a short cinema film in the pool.
The contract to carry out the feasibility study is awarded to Ferguson Mann. The report should be completed by the beginning of May.
Representatives of the campaign, council officials and Sovereign met to discuss and agree the Terms of Reference for the feasibility study.
Representatives of the campaign, council officials and Sovereign met to discuss the future of the pool. the result of the meeting is a decision to carry out a feasibility study into the future of the pool, hopefully involving the Bristol Building Preservation Trust. A joint press release is agreed
Campaigners celebrate as the Planning Transport and Development (Central) Area Sub-Committee of Bristol City Council refuse Sovereign's application for listed building consent. An amendment is also passed instructing the council's planning officers to provide assistance in determining the future of the Clifton Pool. Campaigners tell local journalists that they look forward to a constructive dialogue with the city council, Sovereign Housing and other interested parties.
Bristol City Council will be deciding the fate of the Clifton Pool at a meeting of the Planning Transport and Development (Central) Area Sub-Committee on Wednesday 17 November at 2:00 p.m. in a committee room in the Council House, College Green. The recommendation of the planning officials is to refuse Sovereign's application for Listed Building Consent.