The building has been derelict for more than a decade

Victoria Baths, on Hathersage Road, Manchester, is a complex which includes private baths, a laundry, jacuzzi, three swimming pools and Turkish baths.

A team of architects, engineers and quantity surveyors have been appointed to work on the project.

The Trust's Project Manager Gill Wright, said it is a big step forward.

"We're very pleased about the team that we've put together, because making those appointments was a very important step.

"Victoria Baths is a Grade II listed building, it's very special, so you want to make sure you've got architects with enough experience."

'Water palace'

Work on the restoration is to cost an estimated �18m.

The baths won the prize after 282,018 television viewers voted for the project to win.

The complex was built for the poor of inner Manchester between 1903 and 1906.

When the Lord Mayor opened the building in September 1906 he described it as a "water palace" of which "every citizen of Manchester was proud".

The council closed the baths in 1993, in the face of much local opposition.