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Music venue's £1.92m plan aims to keep talent local

Neve Gordon-Farleigh
News imageRue Hackett A person on stage, pictured from behind. They are wearing black and are holding a guitar, with a microphone positioned in front of their face. In the background is a standing audience watching on. It is dimly lit, with stage lighting.Rue Hackett
The Baths reopened as a music venue again in 2021

People are being invited to help shape a £1.92m regeneration project which aims to help young talent stay in Ipswich by transforming a music venue.

The project, led by local promoters Brighten the Corners (BTC), wants to breathe new life into the former St Matthew's swimming baths, which reopened as a music venue in 2021.

Marcus Harris-Noble, director of engagement and skill at BTC, said: "We want to ensure that the offer of the building reflects what local people want and need."

Construction work is expected to begin in late spring, with the doors due to open in spring next year.

"We're really, really excited to be given this opportunity for local creatives to be able to express themselves and also stay in Ipswich, because one of the challenges we have in the past is... there was always a time you get to a certain point that you've got to leave [the town] to fulfill your ambitions," Harris-Noble told BBC Radio Suffolk presenter Sarah Lilley.

News imageEDRM Architects An artist's impression of a the first floor of The Baths after it has been transformed. It shows an arched roof above spaces which show mostly men, sitting, looking at phones, walking etc. There are pot plants in the room which is sectioned off into different spaces.EDRM Architects
The biggest transformation will be to the first floor which will become a creative digital space

The upgrades include transforming the first floor into a creative digital skills lab, kitted out with video production, live recording, podcast equipment and an extended reality studio.

"So if you're a young musician, in one building you can perform downstairs at a gig, you can record a podcast upstairs, you can record your album upstairs and you can even shoot your video in the building as well," Harris-Noble said.

News imageNigel Rea A black and white image of Led Zeppelin at The Baths Ipswich during a performance in 1971. Two men with long hair are at the front of the stage, the one on the left with a guitar, the one on the right singing into a mic. Behind them a key board player and a drummer. In front of them are just-glimpsed heads of the audience, looking up at them.Nigel Rea
Led Zeppelin was among the many rock legends to perform at The Baths (here in 1971)

In the 1960s and 1970s, boards were placed over the swimming pool in the evening so that music performances could be put on. Performers included Cream, Led Zeppelin and Rod Stewart. The pool eventually closed and the building later became a social club and gym, before BTC took it over and reopened it as a music venue.

A community event to garner people's views on their plans will be held at BTC's The Church on St Stephen's Lane between 18:30 and 20:30 GMT on Tuesday.

"We're keen to find out how they want to use the space, because we want to ensure that the offer of the building reflects what local people want and need," said Harris-Noble.

"This is going to be a really, really exciting addition to the cultural scene of the town."

News imageLee Braban/BBC A close-up of the Baths in Ipswich which is a music venue in the town. The building is made of brick and there is a black sign above the building which says The Baths in white writing. Lee Braban/BBC
The Baths in Ipswich will be able to operate as a full-time music venue after the council granted planning permission

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