A set of derelict Victorian waterworks that once cleaned water for London through large filtering beds could be turned into a series of open-water swimming baths, if a campaign group can buy the land they sit in.
(c) East London Waterworks Park
The site is next to the River Lee and is the former East London Water Works, built between 1899-1903 as a series of reservoirs to secure a greater supply of water for an increasing population and to provide a reserve of water in case of drought. The company was merged into the Metropolitan Water Board just before it opened.
What was built was four large sets of filter beds. One has since been concreted over and is now a depot. Two have been filled in as parkland, leaving one set of filter beds still remaining.
It’s the one that’s been concreted over that the group are hoping to restore, and instead of the filter reeds being used to clean water, the filter beds would become the first public swimming ponds in the UK to be cleaned naturally by reeds and aquatic plants.
The site is currently owned by the Department for Education and had been earmarked for schools, but planning permission was refused, so the site is up for sale. A new charity, the East London Waterworks Park, says it has secured an agreement to buy the site, if they can raise enough money.
They’re currently raising £1 million, with the expectation that will unlock another £2 million in grants to buy the site and open it up to the public. They expect that the swimming baths will generate more than £16 million in social value for the local economy. The site is also conveniently close to the Lea Bridge railway station, giving the potential for a much wider customer base for the swimming pools.
They’ve already raised over £124,000 of the target, and need to raise the remainder within a year.
Details about the plans to reopen the old waterworks are here.
If they can raise the money, then people in East London could be swimming amongst the reeds in 2029.
Hope they can save it. Sounds like a splendid plan for community use, and perhaps an inspiration for other benign ecological projects?