Pic: animalvegetable
A £36m regeneration of Poplar Baths will soon be under way with plans to create up to 100 affordable homes at the Tower Hamlets site.
While campaigns for restoring the old building, which is located along the East India Dock Road, have been going on for years, a solution for the restoration presented by the Poplar Baths Steering Group was finally agreed on at a Tower Hamlets council cabinet meeting on January 9.
Commenting on the regeneration plans, the Mayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman has said that: “I am delighted to be returning this local landmark to the community as this is a major development which will provide fantastic facilities for residents to enjoy.”
Plans for regeneration progressed significantly with the council recommending the appointment of Camden-based architectural practice Campbell, Wilkinson, Zogolovitch and Goughfor the project. According to the agreement the site will be transformed into a community sports centre that will provide state of the art sports facilities as well as a swimming pool and the 100 new affordable homes..
In addition to the houses being built on the Poplar Baths site, the same architects are in the process of planning and developing a large residential scheme for the area around East India Dock Road where CWZG will be undertaking the development of 796 flats of which 46% will be affordable. There will also be 975sq m of commercial space, a community centre and a residents’ gym.
A further regeneration project, is planned for the Dame Colet site on Ben Jonson Road in Tower Hamlets and a new youth centre planned for the current Haileybury Centre site on ben Jonson Road.
Lilian Collins, Chair of Poplar Baths Steering Group has said that: “I’d like to take the opportunity to thank the Mayor and his council colleagues for making this dream a reality. It has been over 20 years in waiting and finally despite all the obstacles of the past, this Mayor has listened to local people and made this possible.”
Poplar Baths first opened in 1852 and was used as a swimming centre until 1988. After this, the building was shut and was used as an industrial training centre.
