Moseley Road Baths has been teaching Birmingham residents to swim since 1907. Consisting of two major pools and three ‘slipper’ baths, it continuously hosted swimming for over a century until its closure in 2023 (although the first-class Gala Pool closed two decades earlier in 2003).
As just one of only a few Grade II* listed swimming pools in the UK, the fight to keep Moseley Road Baths alive hasn’t been easy. Added to the ‘Heritage at Risk’ register in 2005, it’s faced permanent closure countless times. But thanks to the community of Balsall Heath, the Edwardian baths still have a bright future ahead of them.
Moseley Road Baths CIO, which took control from Birmingham City Council in 2018, have led the charge in a 20-year battle to restore the heritage site. In June 2022, £32.7million was awarded to repair, restore and transform not only Moseley Road Baths, but the adjacent Balsall Heath Library.
But earlier this year, Moseley Road Baths received its most important update ever. Securing a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, which completed a £16 million funding package for ‘Phase 2’ of its restoration, work began on the restoration of the Gala Pool and creation of a new ‘Community Health & Wellbeing Hub’.
What is Phase 2?
- Full restoration of the iconic Gala Pool, including a restored mezzanine gallery and a new accessible ground-floor public viewing area
- Conversion of Pool 2 into a flexible event space
- Transformation of the Women’s Slipper Baths into a community health & wellbeing hub
- Reimagining of the Men’s Second Class Slipper Baths as a community gym
- Development of the boiler room into a flexible studio space
Phase 2 will follow directly from Phase 1, which is focused on roof restoration and making the buildings watertight, basement repairs, and the full restoration of Balsall Heath Library—including the addition of a new mezzanine level. The library is due to open in summer 2027, with the baths opening at the end of 2028 or start of 2029.
Lucy Reid, Chair, Moseley Road Baths CIO, said: “After years of campaigning by an extraordinary community of staff, volunteers, partners and supporters, and years of hard graft to turn successful campaigning into a plan for the building with a workable business model, we will be restoring the magnificent Gala Pool and bringing this remarkable building fully back into public use.”
When it does reopen, the baths will also offer new accessibility features—like poolside and dryside changing facilities, pool hoist and pod, lift and ramp access, and wheelchair-accessible changing and viewing areas—as well as SEND, LGBTQ+, women-only, dementia-friendly, para and disability, and sensory swimming sessions.
