A campaigning heritage group has given its backing to plans to revive an Aberdeen landmark.
The Historic Pools of Britain (HPB) has labelled the Bon Accord Baths, on Justice Mill Lane, an “outstanding example of an art deco municipal pool”.
And the group has pledged to give “all the support we can” to Bon Accord Heritage’s bid to obtain a lease for the building from Aberdeen City Council and reopen it as a community facility.
The baths were first opened in 1940 but closed in 2008 during council cutbacks.
The building was put on the market by the local authority in January and seven bids – including one from Bon Accord Heritage – are believed to have been made for the site.
Spokeswoman for the HPB, Gill Wright, helped raise £3.4million to reopen Manchester’s historic Victoria Baths in 2010 following a 17-year closure.
In a letter to the campaigners she said the group would “support the bid by Bon Accord Heritage to take on Bon Accord Baths and run it as a community-run leisure and health facility, preserving its unique cultural and architectural heritage”.
She added: “It (Bon Accord Baths) is described in (the book) Great Lengths as a ‘wondrous building’ with ‘1930s baths architecture at its very best’. Bon Accord Baths clearly has national as well as local significance.
“There is a great deal of support within the network to help the team at Bon Accord Heritage succeed with its vision.
“There is the opportunity for this to become a shining example of what’s possible when the model of community ownership is embraced.”
John Law, head of facilities and management for Bon Accord Heritage, said the backing was great news for the campaign to reopen the building and his group’s efforts to convince Aberdeen councillors the project “can be done”.
He added: “They have given us really good support. There is some really useful help we can get from these people. This is a bit of a movement, there are a lot of similar projects happening.”
The group hopes to raise an estimated £10million to restore the pool if it is granted a lease.
A final decision on the baths’ future will rest with the council’s property sub-committee on September 2.