Baths to close (From Watford Observer)

Baths to close

1:36pm Sunday 10th December 2006 in News

MORE than 73 years of swimming at Watford Central Baths will come to an end today (Sunday) when the facility closes for major redevelopment.

Since it opened in 1933 - one of the world's only electrically heated swimming pools at that time - it has provided a place to bathe, exercise and splash about for huge numbers of Watford residents.

But now Watford Borough Council has decided to replace the Central Baths and Watford Leisure Centre at Woodside because it feels both have reached the end of their working lives.

The centres will both be closed by the start of next week for the £24m redevelopment, which is expected to last 18 months.

The baths will be open today free of charge.

Watford mayor Dorothy Thornhill said: "The two centres have a combined age of over 100 years and have provided sporting and recreational activities for thousands of Watford residents of all ages.

"We would like to thank all our customers who have enjoyed the centres and look forward to inviting them back to our brand new facilities in the near future."

However, not all former users believe they will be able to return once the new centres are built.

Paul Cuthbert, team manager of Watford Swimming and Water Polo Club, said the club now faced uncertain, but exciting, times ahead.

He said: "For people like me, Watford Central Baths has been a way of life."

Allan Kidney, 65, has been a committee member of the Watford Naturist Swimming Club (WNSC) for 14 years.

He said: "The club, which currently has about 200 members, has been using Central Baths every Friday, except bank holidays, since September 1968. "From our point of view, the building meets our needs admirably.

"But the new pools will both have glass walls and will not be suitable, not because we are ashamed but because it can be uncomfortable to encounter a nudist if you're not expecting one."

He said club members feel disappointed they will no longer be able to swim at the Central Baths and will have to move temporarily to the Bill Everett Community Centre (BECC) in Leggatts Way.

But with the BECC due to close when the two new leisure centres are completed, the club's future looks uncertain.

For more information about the WNSC, visit the club's website at www.wnsc.org.uk. For more about Watford Swimming and Water Club's last days at the baths, see Sport.