EXCLUSIVE
Residents of Levenshulme campaigning to save Levenshulme Baths took the streets for the fifth time this month last night, but this was no longer a protest but a victory party.
Jubilant locals gathered outside the historic baths on Barlow Road at 5.30pm to celebrate their delight in managing to overturn the council’s decision of 8 February to shut the facility as part of its swingeing £109 million of public spending cuts. They partied on the steps with wine and cake to a loud soundtrack of the theme from Chariots of Fire, accompanied by passing cars beeping their horns in solidarity.
It had taken campaigners just 20 days to push the council into a change of heart, after a concerted effort that involved demonstrations, a petition and mass letter-writing.
At Manchester City Council’s meeting of its Resources and Governance Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Monday 28 February, councillors were assessing public responses to the proposed budget cuts. The baths campaign had been the most vocal and organised across the city.
Council papers released ahead of the meeting showed that more than 1,600 people had signed a petition within two weeks of the cuts being announced – the full total is likely to be much higher as petitions were still being circulated around Levenshulme at time of writing.
The council report also showed that it had received 106 comments about the future of the baths. Of these, more than a fifth referred to the health benefits of having the pools and gym facilities in the neighbourhood.
Another 7 per cent pointed out that money had been spent only last year on upgrading some of the building, while 5 per cent noted the lack of other nearby facilities and 5 per cent said the baths were a key focus for family and children.
Many campaigners at the victory gathering were stunned at such a rapid about-turn by the council. Everyone Inside the M60 spoke to said they had expected a temporary reprieve of six months at most.
Victory party (c) Chris Wright
Local resident Ben Powell commented: “I thought the council might give us, say, six months to produce a viable plan – none of us imagined they would back down so completely.”
Speaking on the baths step at the victory gathering, Sue McPherson from Save Levenshulme Baths, said: “From Cairo to Levenshulme, we said it before and we’ll say it again – people power gets things done! But the fight doesn’t stop here – we still need to mobilise to save the Arcadia Leisure Centre and the local Sure Starts.”
To cheers from the crowd of around 50, fellow campaigner Rachael Howe took the mic to thank everyone for their colossal efforts over the previous three weeks and remind them there would still be a campaign meeting on Wednesday 2 March, as planned.
She said: “We can’t stop fighting. We need to keep the pressure on so the council holds true to its promise to keep the baths open and refurbish or rebuild. If we take our eye off the ball, they could still close it down.”
[...] campaign was recently successful in overturning plans to close a facility much-valued by the local community. But what role – of any – did [...]