Victorian pool to reopen years after Covid closure

A city's Victorian swimming pool is set to reopen in autumn after originally being drained during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The process of draining the Pacific Pool at Chester City Baths caused cracks in its Victorian tiles and a restoration project has since taken place.

The swimming venue's other facility, the Atlantic Pool, which was also drained, was able to reopen but the Pacific Pool stayed shut while the charity-run baths carried out repairs and worked to make its return "financially viable" amid increased running costs.

Brian McCann, chair of Chester City Baths trustees, said generations had learned to swim in the Atlantic Pool and there was a "feeling of ownership" in the city.

Chester City Baths opened in 1901 and is described as one of the country's oldest functioning Victorian baths.

McCann said a "substantial" donation from the Iceland Foods Charitable Foundation had made the reopening possible.

He said the amount had not been disclosed, but the foundation had underwritten most of the site's operating costs for nine months, including utility and staffing costs.

"It gives us the confidence of opening the pool, knowing the utility costs and staff costs are covered," he said.

Work is now under way to grout the pool before it is deep cleaned and carefully refilled, a process expected to take weeks.

McCann said: "We are saying autumn. We would love it to be early autumn, but we will keep people posted."

The baths have taught generations of people in Chester to swim and have also been used for competitive swimming and water polo.

McCann said there was "a real feel of ownership" around the building, adding: "So many people have been through the doors that swam here, or their children have swum here, or in some cases their parents and grandparents."

His daughter, Fiona McCann, who represented Team GB in water polo at London 2012, learned to swim at the baths and now takes her own children there.

The charity said reopening the pool would allow it to expand lessons, classes and club sessions.

Chester's previous public swimming facility was a floating baths on the River Dee, which broke free from its moorings during heavy rain in 1899 and ended up on the weir.

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