2 thoughts on “BROOMHILL POOL NEWS: Broomhill Pool plight set to feature on BBC Look East 18:30 today.”
Have you considered crowd funding or appealing for donations from other successful lidos…?
Hi Tom, thanks for your interest & good question. Broomhill Pool is a founding member for Historic Pools of Britain (National network of heritage pools), and the Broomhill Pool Trust is a member of Future Lidos. Future Lidos is an informal network of community-led projects and campaigns around the UK and Ireland, dedicated to reviving outdoor pool swimming in our communities. The group has been meeting regularly since 2019, and steadily growing: there are now over 40 known projects, and more are emerging all the time. The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded £99,800 to the Future Lidos Group for an exciting collaboration, ‘Pooling Resources’. The group aims to “Work together to spread the joy of outdoor pool swimming”. The Broomhill Pool Trust is proud to be an active member. Broomhill Pool Trust’s key campaign priority has and remains funding, both capital and operational. This is an area of interest to the wider Future Lidos group, but not a key focus at this time (as many are operational).
The reality is that we are not talking thousands, or tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, we are presently talking a £2m gap! The Broomhill Pool Trust has explored every funding avenue. Funding is limited because it was a statutory facility. Our only avenue and strategy has therefore been to attract in a not-for-profit operator to invest, and to be able to apply to the only single large pot open (ie. the NL Heritage Fund).
Crowd Funding is a non-starter, the gap too great. The pool’s status very local/regional and not wide enough for a large yield.
As was confirmed by the 2008 failed bid, the major lottery funds, and bigger third-party funding bodies will simply not hand over £millions to a small charity such as the Broomhill Pool Trust, however well respect we are. They will only provide substantial funding to a statutory body (like a council) or a proven operator or industry player (like Fusion).
Leveraging larger capital sums for restoration is a complex business (hence why it has taken 20 years). Most lidos are run by statutory bodies (Local councils), a few privately owned (like Bristol), or are restored and run by a not for profit trust (like Fusion Lifestyle).
Fusion Lifestyle is the largest operator of heritage pools in Britain. They operate 6 lidos, 40 indoor pools and 80+ fitness ventres and sports halls. They have a very good understanding of funding availabiliy, and the best track record in the business in securing lottery grants.
Broomhill Pool Trust 
Have you considered crowd funding or appealing for donations from other successful lidos…?
Hi Tom, thanks for your interest & good question. Broomhill Pool is a founding member for Historic Pools of Britain (National network of heritage pools), and the Broomhill Pool Trust is a member of Future Lidos. Future Lidos is an informal network of community-led projects and campaigns around the UK and Ireland, dedicated to reviving outdoor pool swimming in our communities. The group has been meeting regularly since 2019, and steadily growing: there are now over 40 known projects, and more are emerging all the time. The National Lottery Heritage Fund has awarded £99,800 to the Future Lidos Group for an exciting collaboration, ‘Pooling Resources’. The group aims to “Work together to spread the joy of outdoor pool swimming”. The Broomhill Pool Trust is proud to be an active member. Broomhill Pool Trust’s key campaign priority has and remains funding, both capital and operational. This is an area of interest to the wider Future Lidos group, but not a key focus at this time (as many are operational).
The reality is that we are not talking thousands, or tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, we are presently talking a £2m gap! The Broomhill Pool Trust has explored every funding avenue. Funding is limited because it was a statutory facility. Our only avenue and strategy has therefore been to attract in a not-for-profit operator to invest, and to be able to apply to the only single large pot open (ie. the NL Heritage Fund).
Crowd Funding is a non-starter, the gap too great. The pool’s status very local/regional and not wide enough for a large yield.
As was confirmed by the 2008 failed bid, the major lottery funds, and bigger third-party funding bodies will simply not hand over £millions to a small charity such as the Broomhill Pool Trust, however well respect we are. They will only provide substantial funding to a statutory body (like a council) or a proven operator or industry player (like Fusion).
Leveraging larger capital sums for restoration is a complex business (hence why it has taken 20 years). Most lidos are run by statutory bodies (Local councils), a few privately owned (like Bristol), or are restored and run by a not for profit trust (like Fusion Lifestyle).
Fusion Lifestyle is the largest operator of heritage pools in Britain. They operate 6 lidos, 40 indoor pools and 80+ fitness ventres and sports halls. They have a very good understanding of funding availabiliy, and the best track record in the business in securing lottery grants.