Listed former baths set to go back on market
GoogleA Grade II listed former swimming baths is set to go on the market again after a council said it had funded all the repairs it could afford.
St James' Baths, built in 1932, is owned by City of Doncaster Council and was closed by the authority in 2013.
A developer's proposal to convert the Waterdale landmark into a mixed-use facility of apartments, bar and a spa, was refused by the council earlier this year.
The authority installed a new roof on the building following a roof collapse in 2018, but said it no longer had the "wherewithal" to run the facility and it would be "returned to the market to see what interest there is".
At a meeting of the council's overview and scrutiny management committee, Councillor Frank Jackson said he hoped it would not be sold to the private sector.
In response, Debbie Hogg, executive director for corporate resources, told the committee a new roof had been installed to make it "wind and watertight", but that the council did not have the means to take it further.
'Resources and priorities'
Hogg told committee members: "The proposition was largely about the independent sector having responsibility for it because we've not the wherewithal to actually maintain it going forward.
"The next stage is to go back out to the market and see what interest there is."
According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Jackson told the committee he had taught swimming in the building and could not believe it would be lost.
He said: "We are desperate for that type of facility, we have lost so much in the past heritage-wise.
"To me, we should really be looking at providing this as a main attraction for Doncaster, same as the airport."
Hogg said it was a question of "resources and priorities".
"The estimate for the building is about £9m and we don't have £9m - that's why we went out to the independent sector," she said.
"As much as we'd love it, we just haven't got the resources to do that."
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