Halifax swimming pool's mosaic sees national campaign group bid for listed status

The pool, built in the 1960s at Skircoat Road, Halifax, is deemed to be past its best and three years ago proposals were made by Calderdale Council that the pool site could be earmarked for a major new car park if it was demolished.

The council is committed to building a new leisure centre which would incorporate a swimming pool on the site of the existing leisure complex at North Bridge, Halifax, last autumn committing £900,000 to progress planning.

Some further public consultation sessions were to have been held this spring but are on hold because of the coronavirus pandemic.

A social media conversation began on Twitter with one commentator, Dr Otto Saumarez Smith, raising the question of what would happen to the pool’s distinctive internal mural.

This grew into other commentators questioning the future of the building, culminating in the Twentieth Century Society, which campaigns to save “outstanding buildings and design that have shaped the British landscape since 1914”, announcing that its casework team is drafting an application to get the building listed.

The council says upgrading the existing pool is not cost-effective but adds that no final decision about the future of the old building has been made.

Dr Smith, who is an Assistant Professor in Architectural History at the University of Warwick’s History of Art Department, describes the mural, titled “British Pond Life” as “an ebullient mid-1960s ceramic mural by Kenneth Barden and Tweeted: “It is part of Halifax Swimming Pool, a fine building itself, which the council are proposing to demolish (for a car park). Isn’t it gorgeous…”

By early this month, the Twentieth Century Society said: “Our casework team is busy drafting a listing application for this 1964-66 swimming pool, which Calderdale Council proposes to demolish.

“It features some amazing ceramic murals depicting ‘British Pond Life’ by Kenneth Barden.”

Calderdale Council’s Cabinet member for Regeneration and Resources, Coun Jane Scullion (Lab, Luddenden Foot) said Calderdale had a rich heritage of interesting buildings in Halifax ranging from the magnificent Piece Hall (1775), the last remaining cloth trading hall in Europe, to the visually striking but stark former headquarters of the Halifax Building Society (1973) and after locked down hoped people would come and visit its buildings to see for themselves.

But the pool had significant cost issues, she said.

“Halifax Pool opened in 1966 and is unfortunately now in need of significant and costly ongoing work just to keep it running safely.

“We know that both the building and the activities are much loved by local people.

“We have been working on plans for a new, state-of-the-art combined pool and sports centre on the site of the existing North Bridge Leisure Centre in Halifax, to allow for continued swimming facilities in the town and will be working on that over the next year or so.

“We strongly believe that the people of Halifax and the wider borough deserve the best facilities,” said Coun Scullion.

She also said: “However, I must emphasise that in spite of speculation no decision has been made about the future of the existing building.”