Bramley Baths: Over £120,000 raised for repairs at Edwardian Leeds bathhouse as community share offer extended
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Bramley Baths, which first opened its doors back in 1904, is the last remaining Edwardian bathhouse in the city.
The 120-year-old building was threatened with closure in 2011, but was saved by campaigners and has been run as a community benefit society ever since, which means that any profits made go back into preserving the Broad Lane attraction, which offers swimming and gym classes.
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However, a series of repairs were recently identified by the team who look after the building, including a full replacement of the roof, and a campaign to raise £350,000 was launched last month.
In the six weeks since a staggering £120,000 has been raised, including £70,000 from the local community and £40,000 from a booster fund.
As part of the campaign a ‘Community Share Offer’ was launched, which allows people to purchase a part of the historic site with shares on offer for as little as £50.
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Hide AdBusiness Development Manager, Jennie Willetts said “We are currently pursuing investment opportunities from ethical finance groups, local businesses, match funding and have further offline pledges of over £2000.
“However, in order for us to unlock more match funding, we still need further investments to ensure the roof is repaired and we are able to implement cost saving measures in order for us to make long term savings on energy bills.”
CEO David Wilford said: “After 12 years of being community led, progressing to being part community owned is a big step. There has been a quiet revolution with the community shares model, as a way of ethically raising finance for large projects such as ours. With support from Cooperatives UK, our offer has undergone a rigorous quality standard procedure, giving confidence to our local community, and something they can be proud to be a part of.”
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