Historic Turkish baths saved after operator found

4 hours ago

Jonny ManningNorth East and Cumbria

News image — Newcastle's City Baths reopened in 2020 following a refurbishment but its operator later fell into administration

Fusion Lifestyle The City Baths swimming pool. It is a six-lane indoor swimming pool with two lanes divided by ropes and buoys. The walls are yellow with ornate leaded and arched windows separated by wall mounted uplights. The walls are a pale yellow with black and white detailing. — Newcastle's City Baths reopened in 2020 following a refurbishment but its operator later fell into administration

Historic Turkish baths have been saved after a new organisation was found to run the site.

The future of Newcastle's City Baths and the Turkish Baths was put in doubt after its previous operator, Fusion Lifestyle Ltd, fell into administration in April.

Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL), which manages more than 400 public facilities around the country, has taken over the site and said it would welcome customers in the "coming days".

Newcastle City Council Liberal Democrat councillor Rob Austin said the deal meant the Grade II-listed building had been "safeguarded" and people could continue to "enjoy great leisure services in the heart of the city".

"The council promised to do all that it could to protect the much-loved facility and I am delighted to announce that has now been achieved," he said.

The Newcastle City Baths User Group's John Egan welcomed the news and said members looked forward to working with GLL.

"We hope this marks the beginning of a new chapter focused on high standards, investment, accessibility, community engagement and a consistently excellent customer experience," he said.

GLL said it would explore ways to "expand and improve" services at the baths.

Fusion Lifestyle was granted the lease for the baths in 2016, when the site was in poor condition and in need of a major refurbishment.

The then Labour-led council said it could not afford to carry out the work itself and instead granted Fusion Lifestyle a £5.5m loan towards the £7.5m restoration project.

But because the council was listed as an unsecured creditor when the business collapsed, it is unlikely to recover the £6.06m it is owed.

As part of the agreement, staff working for Fusion Lifestyle Ltd at the baths will have their jobs transferred to GLL and no redundancies are expected.