GENERATIONS of city residents have splashed around in the Victorian splendour of Glenogle Baths.
Now the historic Stockbridge pool is set to be enjoyed by swimmers for many years to come after its future was secured with a £5.3 million refurbishment.
Campaigners have spent the past month meeting with more than 50 city councillors in the late
st round of their bid to save the much-loved baths.
Now the ruling Lib Dem/SNP administration has ended months of uncertainty after revealing it will include the revamp in its forthcoming budget. The refurbishment will be paid for using a process known as prudential borrowing, which is clawed back through future revenue.
Marjorie Mantle, who has led the Save Glenogle Baths campaign, said today: "We are absolutely delighted with the news, which shows that the council has listened to the people of Edinburgh. These lovely Victorian baths will now be maintained for generations to come."
Linda Wilson, secretary of the Save Glenogle Baths campaign, added: "It has certainly been an interesting experience, meeting so many councillors.
"We think we have been successful in maintaining a high profile for this issue, and the response from the councillors was generally positive."
The campaign to save the baths began last year and quickly gained support from across the Capital. It won the backing of top Labour aide Sir Bernard Crick, David Blunkett's former "Britishness Tsar", who is a regular visitor.
In August, the council agreed to rule out plans to sell the building for housing, but £1.8 million previously earmarked for the revamp had already been spent elsewhere. With a spiralling repair bill and a warning that further funding would not be available until 2011, fears were raised that the pool would be forced to close anyway.
However, the work should now be able to get under way immediately as it already has planning consent, alongside approval from Historic Scotland.
Sports leader Deidre Brock said today: "We are delighted to say that we are going to carry out a full refurbishment and upgrade, while maintaining the character of the baths. This is a great day, and I would like to pay tribute to the hard work of campaigners."
Local Lib Dem councillor Tim McKay added: "I'm delighted that my colleagues have supported this. Times are hard, and for the administration to be able to find the funds is great news. I did fear that with other projects, such as the Royal Commonwealth Pool, it would struggle to get through – but I made the plea, and my colleagues were convinced."
The Labour and Green groups on the council have also pledged to include the refurbishment in their alternative budgets. Inverleith councillor and Conservative group leader Iain Whyte, aims to convince members to include it in his party's alternative budget.
Cllr Whyte said: "As a local ward member I desperately want to see this work carried out."
And local Labour councillor Lesley Hinds added: "The people involved with this have run a very good campaign, and they have been very positive in speaking to all the councillors about why this work needs to be done now."
