It is now a decade since Bon Accord Heritage was formed with a view to protecting one of Aberdeen’s most historic leisure sites.
And, after 10 years of hard work from dedicated campaigners, it is safe to say Bon Accord Baths has been “saved”.
The view of the 118ft pool under an impressive curved roof, illuminated in natural light is one which will be familiar to many who grew up in Aberdeen.
In the years to come, it will look pretty much the same – only with rather more water in the pool.
‘It has grown arms and legs’
The charity was built from scratch by volunteers who came together to “save” the impressive baths after their closure in 2008.
Once they were able to get inside the empty building, they rolled up their sleeves to scrub floors, clear debris and start bringing it back to life.
“If we hadn’t stepped in at that point, well, another year or so and the building couldn’t have been saved,” Steven Cooper said.
The board member said the baths’ 80th birthday was a milestone they wanted to celebrate by inviting the public back through the doors for the first time.
“We had seven weeks during which the community group could come in,” he said.
“Loads of businesses came in to help. We gave the place a deep clean and moved things out.
“It was a very limited area, just from the lobby up to the pool balcony, but we were able to open to let the public in and see the state of the building.
“Within the first few hours, the queue was out the door and beyond the Hardgate.”
During that weekend, they also received an impressive £18,000 in donations.
“It has grown arms and legs since then,” Steven added.
A big year for Bon Accord Baths
Since the campaign to save the baths started, the charity has grown, the board has developed and the state of the building has come on “leaps and bounds”.
“This is not our project, it’s the city’s project,” said Steven, who first joined the effort in 2018.
“We could not have done this without the community.
“The people of Aberdeen have been very generous and want this to happen.
“We can say now that Bon Accord Baths has been ‘saved’.
“Now, it’s being brought into use in a different stage of the project.”
Bon Accord Heritage has three separate work streams ongoing in their efforts to reopen the baths as a city-centre leisure facility.
Passionate volunteers look after the building, coming in once or twice a month to tackle different areas.
“It’s a big community effort,” Steven said.
“The money raised through fundraising is all going into the building.
“Keeping the pool hall leak proof is like painting the Forth Rail Bridge.
“Once you get to the end you have to start again.”
Preparing for an exciting 2025
The second stream involves events being held in the space until it can function as a pool again.
Aberdeen Jazz Festival were the first to adopt Bon Accord Baths as a venue, with other musical talent following suit.
Performers can take advantage of the incredible acoustics from the pool while the audience enjoy the experience from the refurbished seats.
The third and final stream involves the development of the building, where a lot of work is happening behind the scenes.
And Bon Accord Heritage are excited to share their vision with the public in the coming months.
‘We’re very protective of the building’
The charity carried out a survey post-Covid to gain a better understanding of what facilities Aberdeen residents want in the city centre.
And 99% said it was important a pool was provided.
“There would be no point in putting in all this time and effort if it wasn’t going to be used,” trustee Becky Orlinski said.
“I say this as well when people come in for visits. It’s so important.”
Becky first joined the campaign as a volunteer a few years ago and is now on the board of trustees.
“I was never here when it was open,” she said.
“Having moved to Aberdeen in 2013, I didn’t know about the baths.
“I could see the windows from my home and wondered what the building was, so when there was an open day I came along.”
Steven added: “Some of us grew up coming up coming to the baths all the time and others have joined because they can see the value of this massive heritage building and what it could achieve.
“It’s nice to have both viewpoints. We’re all very protective of the building.”
Volunteers working behind the scenes
Although open days have been held, there are large areas of the building the public have still not been able to see since it closed in 2008.
The volunteers are gradually working their way across all the areas, most of them very well-preserved, to tidy them up.
The Turkish baths from the 1930s and cold plunge pool are still in good condition on the top floor, while original bathtubs are still located past the lobby.
Bon Accord Heritage’s ultimate goal is to reopen the baths as a leisure facility but they also want to diversify what the building can offer.
“It must be a frustrating part of the project for the public as they can’t see what is happening,” Becky shared.
“It’s not the most glamorous part.”
“Thanks for bearing with us,” Steven added.
Conversation