Twickenham, The Riverside c.1965

Photo ref: T91054

More about this scene

After the baths closed in 1981, officially for refurbishment, the council decided that the demand for a new pool could not justify the cost of extensive repair or replacement, and a search began for a new use for the site. During the 1980s and 1990s a succession of proposals, rejections, counter-proposals, appeals, inquiries and discussions took place with various developers and the local population, but no agreement could be reached. The council favoured controlled development by the private sector, but local amenity groups were adamant that the area should be preserved for public access and enjoyment. Meanwhile the baths were left to decay into a derelict eyesore. By early 2002 the Liberal Democrat- controlled council, frustrated by years of failed development plans, were very keen to see the site developed by the private sector in a scheme which, it argued, would deliver financial and leisure benefits to local residents. The Twickenham Riverside Terrace Group (a umbrella group of local amenity societies) strenuously opposed this proposal, and argued strongly that as all the land was originally purchased as public amenity land, it should remain in public hands to benefit the local community. They put forward proposals for an alternative scheme for the site to remain a community space.