COUNCILLORS unanimously passed plans to knock down Sutton Baths and build an apartment block and bungalows on the site at last week’s planning committee meeting.
The proposals received support from all political parties on Ashfield District Council, with councillors welcoming the opportunity to develop social housing for the over 60s.
The application proposes the erection of a 2.5 storey apartment block, comprising of 22 apartments and three bungalows, a community room, off-street car parking and a garden area, on the derelict Sutton Pools building and Brook Street community building site.
Speaking at the meeting, Coun Chris Baron said social housing such as this is ‘very much in need’ across the whole district.
Coun John Wilmott added that he had ‘great pleasure’ in seeing the application come before the meeting.
“We have the opportunity to build council properties in our area for the first time for more than 25 years,” he said.
Coun Wilmott said that he hoped the council would be building many similar schemes over the next decade and he was ‘looking forward to seeing the facade of the old swimming baths as a reminder of the area’s heritage’.
One of the key features of the development is that the facade of the historic Baths building will be incorporated into the new design, maintaining the architecturally important features. The facade will be taken down while the building work takes place, the materials will be stored, and it will then be rebuilt as part of the apartment block.
Being close to Sutton town centre, the development is considered to be in a sustainable location, near to amenities, while the scale of it is reported to have ‘less of an impact’ on its neighbours than the present buildings.
There are a number of sustainability features, including solar panels on the roof modern heating and ventilation systems.
During consultation, Nottinghamshire County Council, as the highways authority, said that the level of off-road parking ‘falls short of the likely demand this site will generate by approximately six spaces’.
However it found that because the site is so near the town centre, the shortage ‘does not warrant a reason for refusal’, because local facilities are within walking distance.
Just 12 unallocated parking spaces will be provided for 25 dwellings, with resident parking permits issued for Brook Street on a discretionary basis.
Coun Jason Zadrozny expressed his concerns about the parking situation, stating that it could create ‘difficulties’ for the people living there if they could not park outside where they lived and then had to walk with shopping, especially if they are older.
But he praised the use of the original facade, saying: “It’s the best job the council could do with it, with the caveat of parking.”
By Marg Thorne
The Old Sutton Baths which stands on Brook Street in Sutton in Ashfield was designed by Sutton architect Leopold Dodsley, son of William Marsh Eckersley Dodsley and grandson of Squire John Dodsley of Skegby Hall
The land consisting of 1,422 square yards was originally owned by the Duke of Portland, and let for allotments when it was signed over in May 1923
Funding for the baths came from the Sutton Miner’s Welfare Fund, which was built up by the 1d on a tonne of coal. They gave £16.027 towards the construction of the old baths in 1924. Other monies from this fund were used for the bandstand, hard and grass tennis courts and tennis pavilion, and a Bowling Green and pavilion on Sutton Lawn. It also paid for a large playing ground with swings and tennis courts on Hardwick Lane, and sand-pit on Garden Lane.
The building work at the baths was carried out by R. Moore of Mansfield. It was 75ft by 35ft, and 7ft deep grading down to 2ft 6 at the shallow end. It held 97,000 gallons of water. The steelwork and concrete were carried out by the Empire Stone Co. In 1926 the building was opened by Mrs J. Strachan, of Stanton Hill, wife of the Sutton Colliery Manager who was also chairman of the local welfare committee.
When the baths were handed over to Sutton Urban District Council, in April 1927 there was a provisional agreement which stated that miners resident in Sutton would get preferential treatment. The Baths cost around £20,000 to build, so without the miner’s generous donations, the building would never have been built.
Initially, the baths was open for just the summer months. When the winter came, the pool was covered with maple flooring and the building played host to some of the country’s most famous names. The Foundations, Kendo Nagasaki, Bruce Woodcock..........
The new pool was due to open in 1966. But in Feb 1965, a fire struck the old pool, delaying the re-opening
Cllr Tom Stimpson received a civic trust commendation for Sutton baths due to its design in June 1969
Sadly its doors were closed in 2008, with the opening of the Lammas Leisure Centre.
This page was added by Marg Thorne on 10/12/2011