£16m spent on Ironmonger Row Baths makeover as cuts bite

Published: 25th March, 2011
by TERRY MESSENGER

PUBLIC money totalling £16million is to be spent on a “very fancy” refurbished Ironmonger Row Baths – despite the Town Hall’s cash crisis.

Plans for a complete overhaul of the historic Turkish baths and swimming pool in Finsbury were drawn up before the coalition government’s austerity measures hit Islington.

Ruling Labour councillors approved a £12million council contribution to the cost at a meeting of Islington Council’s executive committee last Thursday.

Labour planning chief Councillor Paul Convery said:   “I have to confess that in the current very straitened financial circumstances this feels like quite a grand project.”

But Labour council leader Councillor Cath­erine West stressed that expensive specifications for the project were drawn up by the previous Lib Dem administration.

After Labour took control of the Town Hall in May, the new coalition government withdrew £40million in grants, leading to severe cuts in services.

Ironmonger Row was built in the 1930s partly to provide baths for people living in some of the most deprived conditions in Britain.

The building is renowned for its Turkish baths and ornate architecture. 

Local activist Leo Chapman asked the committee why the project was so expensive. Cllr Convery explained: “It is a very, very major refurbishment. It’s actually cheaper to build these things from scratch.    

“Taking an old listed building and putting in a completely modern interior is one of the most expensive ways of providing these kinds of services.”

Cllr West added: “It is very fancy, Leo, especially the Turkish baths which are meant to be very special indeed.

“I just hope we can work out a pricing structure so if it becomes a big tourist attraction we can make money to help us recoup this massive investment.”

Improvements plan­ned for the baths, currently closed, include:

• A new teaching pool with moveable floor to adjust depth to the requirements of learners.
• A completely refurbished main pool with spectator gallery.
• Lifts and ramps to allow less mobile people easy access to all areas of the building.
• Revamped Turkish baths with hot rooms, steam rooms, saunas, relaxation areas and treatment rooms.
• A new gym and public laundry.

A permanent exhibition about the original “slipper baths” will celebrate its pioneering role in enhancing the lives of ordinary people.

The contract was awarded to builder Wates Construction, with funds also contributed by the government through the EC1 New Deal community regeneration project.

Ironmonger Row Baths are due to reopen in June next year.