Author: broomhillpooltrust

No LEVELLING UP FUNDING for “Get Ipswich Active” bid/or Broomhill Pool.

by broomhillpooltrust

No LEVELLING UP FUNDING for “Get Ipswich Active” bid/or Broomhill Pool.

BROOMHILL POOL TRUST STATEMENT:

“This is a hugely disappointing outcome, yet we appreciate the tremendous efforts of Ipswich Borough and our MPs.

“With 75% of Broomhill’s funding already committed, an outstanding community asset with wide public support, this bid should have ticked every box.

“Unfortunately, 65% of 2021 bids failed to secure funding, and this 2022 pot was triple oversubscribed. Far from being “regional”, the Levelling Up Fund bid processes are as centralized and controlled as they come.

“The Trust will now seek to sit down with Broomhill Pool’s core stakeholders (IBC, Fusion Lifestyle & NLHF). We aim to keep them focused, use their wide reach and know-how, exploring every option to bridge the funding gap, to restart and complete the restoration.

Future Lidos Group launch ‘Pooling Resources’. 

by broomhillpooltrust

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 was inspired by the collaborative energy of three National Lido Conferences convened by The Lido Guide authors Emma Pusill and Janet Wilkinson. The group has been meeting regularly since then, 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.

https://futurelidos.org/about

Trust to share in a £16,000 “Cash for Charities” pot.

by broomhillpooltrust

The Broomhill Pool Trust is delighted to have been selected as one of ten charities (from Suffolk and Norfolk) to share in a £16,000 pot.

The £16,000 is being provided by the charitable arm of Newsquest Media Group’s parent company, the Gannett Foundation.
Tokens for “Readers’ Choice Cash for Charity” can be found in the Ipswich Star, East Anglian Daily Times, Eastern Daily Press and Norwich Evening News every day for four weeks. The funds will be distributed based on the tokens received back for each charity.

https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/tokens-begin-for-readers-choice-cash-for-charity-9340838

The Broomhill Pool Trust is a voluntary run charity; our trustees and committee members give their time and expertise completely freely. We have exceptionally low running costs (hiring Broomhill Library for our monthly meetings, Public Liability Insurance and website hosting, etc). So, nearly every penny or pound that we have collected over the last 20 years is used directly to campaign and lobby to save Broomhill Pool; and to provide supporting data, vital analysis and evidence supporting the restoration of Broomhill Pool, Ipswich’s Grade II listed lido. We also put on regular community events (Heritage Open Days, etc) and have partnered with Community Payback to help clean up the pool during the last 20 years.

To see how the Broomhill Pool Trust uses its funds please see https://broomhillpooltrust.org/contact/ HOW WE USE OUR CAMPAIGN FUNDS.

Meeting with Tom Hunt MP.

by broomhillpooltrust

The Broomhill Pool Trust was delighted to meet with Tom Hunt MP (Ipswich) and Cllr Liz Harsant (IBC & SCC) to provide a tour of the pool on Tuesday afternoon (9 August 2022).

The Broomhill Pool Trust appreciates that Ipswich’s Grade II listed lido enjoys cross party support from Ipswich’s two Conservative MPs, Labour administered Ipswich Borough Council and Ipswich Lib-Dems & Greens. 

Ipswich MP Tom Hunt MP and Central Suffolk & North Ipswich MP Daniel Poulter are both backing Broomhill Pool, with a bold bid by Ipswich Borough for additional funds from the Government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Levelling Up Fund.
The bid is one of two submitted by Ipswich Borough Council, and in the case of Broomhill Pool is to enable the lido’s restoration to be re-started, plus provides extra to restore the Wicksteed diving stage, and fit a retractable boom allowing for a 50m heated competition pool and/or contained diving area. The bid outcome is likely to be known in Autumn.

Bold bid by Town’s MPs and Ipswich Borough Council for additional funding from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

by broomhillpooltrust

Ipswich MP Tom Hunt MP and Central Suffolk & North Ipswich MP Dan Poulter are both backing Broomhill Pool, with a bold bid by Ipswich Borough for additional funds from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

The bid is one of two submitted by Ipswich Borough Council, and in the case of Broomhill Pool is seeking to bridge a funding gap to enable the lido’s restoration to be started.
To recap, all funding pledges from Ipswich Borough Council (£1.5m), Fusion Lifestyle (£2.1m) and National Lottery Heritage Fund (£3.4m) were in place and works were due to commence April 2020. However, covid and lockdowns hit, causing Fusion Lifestyle to Furlough 3000 staff and mothball all the 140 leisure facilities they operate. Fusion’s income was knocked for six, while construction inflation escalated due to disruption to global supply chains and materials.
In December 2021, Fusion secured a loan (from IBC) for their stake and the project. However, in March 2022, Russia invaded the Ukraine, disrupting global energy supplies and resulting in a massive inflationary spike in energy and materials.
The Broomhill Pool Trust (www.broomhillpooltrust.org) is convinced that all the stakeholders are committed to getting Broomhill Pool done.
Ipswich Borough Council includes the “regeneration of Broomhill operated by Fusion Lifestyle” in their 2020-2030 Sports Facility Strategy and have taken the initiative with this Levelling Up Fund bid to secure the funds needed to bridge the inflation gap. The bid outcome is likely to be known in Autumn.

Photos from Tom Hunt’s Post (Friday 15 July):

BBC Radio Suffolk: latest news on Broomhill Pool (June 2022).

by broomhillpooltrust

BBC Radio Suffolk: latest news on Broomhill Pool.

Mark Murphy (BBC Radio Suffolk) interview with Mark Ling (Broomhill Pool Trust Chairman). What is the latest update on Broomhill Pool’s restoration? Does Ipswich Borough’s new proposed Ipswich Aquatics Centre (planned for 2027) have any affect on the Broomhill project?

Listen in on the Youtube link below (our thanks to James Sharpe).

Interview took place on BBC RADIO SUFFOLK
– 15 June 2022 (approx. 5:00 mins).

A HAPPY NEW YEAR from ALL AT THE broomhill pool trust.

by broomhillpooltrust

Thank you for your continued interest and support.
Our website received over 45,000 views in 2021 (from 4500 visits).

In December 2021, Ipswich Borough Council’s Executive voted through a £1.8m loan to enable Fusion Lifestyle to kick start restoration works (which were halted in April 2020 due to Covid and lock-downs). We anticipate further progress early in 2022.

Broomhill Pool is recognized as one of Britain’s finest lidos. Our campaign to save the pool is in now in its twentieth year. The Trust has campaigned positively and tirelessly throughout because, fully restored, Broomhill Pool will be a supreme asset and a source of great enjoyment and pride for our town.

Photo Credit: Peter Barber Collection 1994.
See more photos and info on Broomhill Pool at our website.

URGENT IBC Press Release – Broomhill Lido

by broomhillpooltrust

Published 7th December 2021

Next week, Ipswich Borough Council’s Executive will be asked to endorse the principle of the Council loaning £1.8m to Fusion Lifestyle to enable them to deliver the long planned works to Broomhill Lido work. These works are intended to transform the dis-used Grade 2 listed heritage asset back into a much loved swimming and leisure asset for the town.

The proposed £1.8m loan would supplement a £3.5m National Lottery Heritage Fund Grant and an existing grant commitment from Ipswich Borough Council of £1.5m. Fusion Lifestyle are also contributing financially to the project and will manage the site when it is back open (hopefully during 2023).

The loan is being proposed following discussions with Fusion Lifestyle. The impact of Covid-19 on the company’s operations means that, while they remain fully committed to the project, they need to secure additional funding and have concluded that – in the circumstances – the Council is the only realistic option. The terms of the loan from the Council will require the money to be repaid in full with an appropriate rate of interest.

Councillor Bryony Rudkin, Deputy Leader of Ipswich Borough Council, says:

“The Broomhill Lido project is really important for our town and has widespread support. I am recommending that the Council offers to extend its support for the project as – without that offer – the project would almost certainly fail. Bringing the listed lido back into use has long been an ambition of the Council and we continue to value our positive relationship on this project with Fusion Lifestyle.”

Anthony Cawley, Chief Executive of Fusion Lifestyle, says:

“We are really pleased that the Council is  open to lending us funds to support this project. It has long been one of our ambitions and despite the impacts of Covid we remain committed to it.”

Anne Jenkins, Director (Midlands and the East), National Lottery Heritage Fund, says:

“Thanks to National Lottery players, we were able to invest in this important project to bring the Lido back into use for the benefit of Ipswich and the wider area. We hope the on-going partnership between the Borough Council and Fusion Lifestyle will provide a high quality facility for health and well-being in a historic setting.”

For further information please see the Executive report to be discussed on 15 December 2021 here.

Fusion Lifestyle can be contacted here.

See here for Ipswich Lido information on Ipswich Borough Council website