International Pool

Yorkshire Pud · Post by **Yorkshire Pud** » Fri 02 May, 2008 11:21 pm

chameleon wrote: D2G wrote: I read (probably in Y.e.p) that they were still planning to build something new, just cheaper than the tower. Surely the "something new" wasn't just a car park? I've seen old swimming pools covered over and used for events such as concerts (I think this was the case at a pool in Bloxwich). I'm sure people would flock to see a band or event there Yes, it's just the spiracle which is being re-thought and representet just a small part of the site. It's too expensive a site, prime development land now, to be used for anything which wouldn't realise its true financial potential. I think they was refering to the fact that when they demolished the Queens Hall, something else was supposed to have been built on that site, but apparently nothing has ever been built on it yet, and it is currently used as a car park, and the Civic Trust didn't want the same thing to happen to the LIP, when the building could be put to further use.

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Mon 05 May, 2008 9:36 pm

Yorkshire Pud is right, the article in the YEP clearly states that the council want to demolish the Pool building and use the land for car parking as a "temporary" measure.A council spokesperson is quoted as saying (rather sniffily) that the council has to consider ongoing costs associated with keeping the building in situ whilst alternative plans are put in place.The article then goes on with the Civic Trust (I think) comments that this is what was supposed to be happening at the site of the Queen Hall and that is still a car park nearly 20 years on.Trust me - given the economic downturn and the nervousness in the building sector nothing is going to get built anywhere unless it's already past the point of no return already. The centre of Leeds already has way too many cheaply built "luxury" apartments for anything other than the very best quality residential stuf to sell and in the retail sector have you seen how many empty units there are in the city centre shopping centres at the moment? The entire "Trinity Quarter" has been closed for redevelopment as has most of the Schofields Centre and yet the Bond Street, St Johns, and Merrion Centre have dozens of empty units.

Phill_d · Post by **Phill_d** » Mon 05 May, 2008 9:57 pm

Well the building should not go if nothing is been built there. What the council are forgetting is this 1960's architecture will be seen as very much a gem in 100 years time, the way we look at the Victorian stuff now in Leeds. Love or hate the L.I.P you can't argue it's design is a unique landmark in Leeds.

Post by **chameleon** » Mon 05 May, 2008 10:02 pm

My understanding from the responsible Council Officer was that the existing pool car park would close shortly after Christmas when the site was handed over to the Developer, clearly this hasn't happened.The site was however supposedly sold for a magnificent sum (free-hold rather than leased is my belief\0 sometime ago - I wonder if the deal was not far enough on for it not to fall through?

Yorkshire Pud · Post by **Yorkshire Pud** » Mon 05 May, 2008 11:12 pm

Phill_d wrote: Well the building should not go if nothing is been built there. What the council are forgetting is this 1960's architecture will be seen as very much a gem in 100 years time, the way we look at the Victorian stuff now in Leeds. Love or hate the L.I.P you can't argue it's design is a unique landmark in Leeds. I totally agree, I think the council are making a BIG mistake in even thinking about demolishing the building. If the building isn't fit to be used as a swimming pool, then the building should be utillised for something else.I think that if it goes then it will be regretted in years to come!

Trojan · Post by **Trojan** » Sun 10 Jan, 2010 6:15 pm

There was some discussion of Poulson buildings on this thread in 2008, and through the book on Morley Co-op I've found another. I had no idea he was the architect. It's right opposite Morley Town Hall. It's no longer a co-op of course. It was their pride and joy when it opened in 1957 and was called "Society House"

Post by **chameleon** » Sun 10 Jan, 2010 6:50 pm

Trojan wrote: There was some discussion of Poulson buildings on this thread in 2008, and through the book on Morley Co-op I've found another. I had no idea he was the architect. It's right opposite Morley Town Hall. It's no longer a co-op of course. It was their pride and joy when it opened in 1957 and was called "Society House" There's lots around Trojan, many much the worse for ware for one reason or another after only 50 years or so. Having said that, I am amazed at how much cocrete was in the pool structure. The project was expected to be completed by January - they're still grinding down the chunks!

Trojan · Post by **Trojan** » Sun 10 Jan, 2010 9:00 pm

chameleon wrote: Trojan wrote: There was some discussion of Poulson buildings on this thread in 2008, and through the book on Morley Co-op I've found another. I had no idea he was the architect. It's right opposite Morley Town Hall. It's no longer a co-op of course. It was their pride and joy when it opened in 1957 and was called "Society House" There's lots around Trojan, many much the worse for ware for one reason or another after only 50 years or so. Having said that, I am amazed at how much cocrete was in the pool structure. The project was expected to be completed by January - they're still grinding down the chunks! I know the plant manager at Demolition Services, if I see him in the next week or so I'll ask him.The building in Morley seems to be in good nick, it's now used by Jack Fulton, Thomas Cook and Oxfam to name but three. The La Cucina building I posted earlier in this thread also seems to be doing ok for a second rate Poulson effort.

Post by **chameleon** » Wed 27 Jan, 2010 2:40 pm

old news today from YEP, they should read this site - or perhaps they have been......( the resultant pile of rubble from the pool was actually very small - almost everything you see there has been brought in from elsewhere causing a significant dust nuisance which has been quelled only by the weather and not council intervention!«Leeds International Swimming Pool was a landmark building which was controversial even before it was built. Now it's finally gone, Neil Hudson asks what will replace it...Not too long ago, back in the pre-credit crunch days when grandiose architectural projects seemed to float on the wind like so many dandelion clocks, Leeds International Pool was going to be replaced by something called the Spiracle, a towering residential development which looked like a wobbly stack of dinner plates.But then, like other flamboyant city centre projects, the plan was dropped.But the pool had been closed and was beyond saving.Toward the end of last year, the pool building, with its iconic roof, was torn down, piece by piece.The last part to disappear was one of the huge re-inforced concrete uprights which supported the roof.Watching it being taken down by a modified crane was like watching a mechanical dinosaur munching its way through a plant.The pile of rubble the pool left was several storeys high.So, what now for the three-acre site?The short answer is: a car park which will open in a month's time with space for 110 cars. A somewhat uninspiring answer, given what was planned for the site.However, in the longer term, council leaders say they want something inspirational.Jean Dent is director of development at Leeds City Council. She said the council would look for a project which had the impact and gravitas of the Rose Bowl and Broadcasting Place.She said: "We have returned part of it to a car park, because that's what it was before."We have contemplated putting it back on the market but with the banks not lending money for commercial developments, it is unlikely anyone will buy it."People are interested in the site but unless they can borrow money they cannot buy the site. The council therefore plans to wait until the market improves."We would encourage mixed use of the site. It is an important location on the inner ring road, so we would want to see a high quality development there."It's not about the height of the building but about its quality. Both the Rose Bowl and Broadcasting Place are examples of buildings which are fit for the 21st Century. In terms of how they look, or how high they are, that will depend on the market."Coun Carter, leader of Leeds City Council, said the pool had cost the council a lot of money over the years in repairs and maintenance.He said: "Throughout the course of its life it presented the council with significant repair and maintenance issues."The council own the site and the capital receipt from that site was always earmarked to help pay for the John Charles Centre for Sport, Middleton."Of course, with economic conditions being as they are, we have not sold the site and we won't until the market picks up and we get a good price for it."Several years ago, an application by Bam to build mixed use flats with a bridge across the inner ring road was approved but Coun Carter said that was unlikely to happen now.He added: "I can't see there being the same market for flats in the city centre that we saw a few years ago. I think the site will now have another use entirely but what that is remains to be seen."We need to get a purchaser with a scheme which fits our vision for the city centre. Long term, it's not going to be a car park. I would like to see something which incorporates a significant amount of open space."But could the credit crunch have been a blessing in disguise?Coun Carter added: "One of the things the economic slow-down has allowed us to do is to re-think ideas from the late 1990s and really think about how to complement one development with another."neil.hudson@ypn.co.ukTimeline

The idea of an Olympic-sized pool was first imagined in Leeds and plans were drawn up but postponed because of the outbreak of war.May 1960: The £1.25m pool was controversial even before it was built and split the council, half of whom wanted several smaller pools built instead.September 1967: The 1,200-seater pool opened amid a flurry of publicity as one of just two Olympic size pools in the North. Gale force winds almost ripped the copper lined roof off.September 1974: Leeds Council claimed more than £278,000 from bankrupt architect the late John Poulson, jailed for property fraud, for alleged design flaws in the Westgate pool – the council had to spend £82,000 replacing Poulson's futuristic copper roof after its wooden frame rotted.July 1977: Ruling Tory councillors mooted the possibility of selling the pool after it lost more than £400,000 in one year.November 1979: The pool was closed after brackets supporting the main roof were found to be unsafe.September 1981: Members of the International Nudist Federation used the pool for their annual knees-up.April 1993: Councillors seriously considered selling the pool so a new sports complex could be built somewhere else.February 2004: For Sale signs go up but the council keeps the pool open for the time being. Opponents of the closure plans mount a campaign to try to reverse the council's decision.July 2005: Work began on the new international pool, next to the South Leeds Stadium, off Dewsbury Road.October 2007: The pool closed.February 2008: The Accumulator art installation was created inside the empty building by two German artists.December 2009: The last remnants of the pool were torn down.There was a much-circulated rumour that Leeds International Pool was mistakenly built too small to conform to Olympic standards, so had to become merely an International Pool instead.One story was that the pilings used in the pool's construction were too thick, thereby shrinking the pool's dimensions.Another version ran that the original measurements were correct but its designers forgot to allow space for the touch pads at each end.When these were subsequently added they made the pool smaller than the Olympic standard 50m long.However, Leeds City Council is unable to shed much light on whether the story is true or simply an urban myth.

Cardiarms · Post by **Cardiarms** » Wed 27 Jan, 2010 2:58 pm

I always though the entrance to the pool was a bit odd, tucked around the back and hemmed in by the inner ringroad. I've just realised that it would have originally opened onto the old Westgate roundabout and been quite distinctive.