Work to restore a grade two listed outdoor swimming pool in Ipswich is finally going ahead
After 20 years of campaigning the site is expected to open in 2026
After 20 years a grade 2 listed swimming pool - campaigners call the happiest place in Ipswich, has received funding for renovations.
Ipswich Borough Council, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Fusion Lifestyle, which will manage the pool, are putting on 10 million pounds to get it up and running by 2026.
Mark Ling Chairman of the Broomhill Trust told us "This is a breakthrough".
The project was initially granted funding in 2019 but was postponed due to the pandemic.
This alongside costs and inflation has meant extra funding has been needed to re-secure this project.
Ipswich Borough Council is putting in 3.3 million pounds toward the project, with the rest coming from Fusion Lifestyle and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
What it means to locals?
We asked Mark what having this facility return would mean for locals, to which he told us it's "somewhere really special."
He revealed his father was a lifeguard there, and this is where his parents courted.
"It's a great place to hang out - Just to forget about your cares and worries and really enjoy outside healthy activity.
"It's a place where people met, it's a place where you made friends, fell in love.
"I just love being there. It's just such a great place. It's almost got its own environment. As soon as you go to that place, you feel better."
That this is a place "that makes life worth living.
"We couldn't believe our luck, if I'd have been a millionaire, I wouldn't have had so much on my on my plate...you could not wish for anymore and just offers so many things in terms of bringing people together, lifting people's spirits."
Another thing that makes it so attractive is that it's got "the highest outdoor diving boards of any public pool in the country, along with Faversham."
The previous pool 1938: The Broomhill Trust
The previous pool 1938: The Broomhill Trust
What will this mean for Suffolk?
We asked Mark how restoring Bloomhill would impact the county. He told us that this is an opportunity to "put ourselves on the map."
"The recreational facility will bring, "mental health and social well being to everybody."
Not only this but it will bring 10 - 15 jobs to the community as well as bringing "people into the town" and experience more of what it has to offer.
"It's been empty for 20 years, but in the future people will be able to see it and people will come for miles to see it."
The Bloomhill Pool Plans 2
The Bloomhill Pool Plans 2