Bramley Baths – Community power making a big splash!

Bramley Baths is a beloved local swimming pool in Leeds. A beautiful Edwardian Grade‑II listed building, it’s a focal point for the community and a place that holds lots of memories for the people who live in the area.   

So when Leeds City Council declared the site unviable and planned its closure in 2011, local people stepped in and rallied to save it. 

Thanks to determined campaigning – supported by local MP Rachel Reeves and led by former MP John Battle – a group of passionate residents created a business plan and took on the site as a Community Benefit Society (CBS) in January 2013.

“It was a toss-up between becoming a charity or a community benefit society,” said Business Development Manager Jennie Willets. “In the end we became a Charitable CBS and recently worked with Co‑operatives UK to update our rules. This give us access to build a membership, raise share capital and be eligible for grants.“ 

Bramley Baths has since become a shining example of how community ownership can deliver far more than just preservation – it can revitalise heritage while providing crucial services and a place to connect. 

“Older people who are on their own come here. They engage with the community and feel wanted. They’ve now created their own network to support each other and organise day trips together,“ Jennie said. 

The baths provide more than 3,000 people with weekly swimming lessons and there are dedicated sessions for marginalised communities including trans people, those with Down syndrome and local mosque groups. There’s also a studio, gym and a former steam room providing event and training space. 

Being 120 years old, the building inevitably became in need of repair, so in 2023 a community share offer was launched as part of a broader £4.1 million redevelopment plan supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. 

To help them prepare their share offer, Bramley Baths were awarded a development grant from the Community Shares Booster Fund. 

“We wouldn’t have been able to launch the share offer without it,” said Jennie. “We used it to get professional help to develop the offer and get the Community Shares Standard Mark, guaranteeing it as a quality share offer.” 

On closing in February 2024, the share offer raised nearly £384,000 from 531 investors, with major support from the Community Shares Booster Fund, which provided £40,000 match funding investment. 

Since the share offer, Bramley Baths were awarded £639,375 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, helped massively by the publicity and local buy-in they received from the share offer.

The funds raised via community shares were allocated to fixing the roof, as it was the most pressing need – and the building is now in a two-year development phase, with the aim of improving energy efficiency, restoring heritage features and expanding community offerings through cultural and digital engagement.

“We simply couldn’t have done what we did without the Booster Fund and early development money,” Jennie said. “It helped us realign our governance and shape a professional offer. The expert advice we received made all the difference.”

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