One of the oldest swimming baths in the North West, Broadway Leisure Centre, has been restored to its former beauty, exposing iconic architectural features following a huge renovation project with the help of Manchester business HMG Paints’ specialist coatings.

First open to the public on July 13th 1932, Broadway Leisure Centre, formally Broadway Baths, boasted a beautiful building full of unique features including high ceilings and windows inviting natural light in to the main pool area, and elegant glazed poolside wall tiles. All designed by City Architect and WW1 veteran, G Noel Hill in a neo-Georgian style. This same architectural style is seen in buildings like the Grade II listed Midland Bank Building, now known as Hotel Gotham, 100 King Street, Manchester which was designed by popular British architect, Edwin Lutyens who popularised this style of architectural design.

The City of Manchester Plan 1945 by Rowland Nicholas used Broadway Baths as a prototype design as it set out to build larger public baths in each neighbourhood area. But over the years the iconic, original features from the baths were unrecognisable as they were covered up and hidden due to remodelling. In a devastating blow in January 2013 it was announced that Broadway Leisure Centre was to be closed as part of funding cuts.

Fortunately, a group of people from the local community came together to form a board of trustees and a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) was created.
This acted as an umbrella to sustain the leisure centre which is now managed by Mark Abernethy, and serving a wider community than ever before. “It has been a long process to get where we are today but with the help of the community and the support from HMG and their specialist coatings, we have been able to restore the baths to a higher standard than we ever thought we could” said Mark Abernethy, Manager at Broadway Leisure Centre.

Renovations begun on the leisure centre, with the aim to get it back to its former glory and that meant removing temporary ceilings and rendering to reveal the historic features. Manchester based HMG Paints were delighted to be part of the project and selected a coatings system to restore, preserve and protect the over 80-year-old structural features including steel beams and woodwork in the high ceilings overlooking the main pool.

“It has been a pleasure to work with Mark and the Team on this unique project. It was Important to specify the products with the right features for the job and match the colours to keep a uniform colour palette throughout and more importantly protect the original features. The trustee’s passion has ensured the baths look better than ever before.” said Steve Crossman, Business Development Director at HMG Paints.

For information on working with HMG Paints decorative coatings, project specifications and more please contact marketing@hmgpaint.com. Take a look at HMG Paints Essentials Colour Collection now and find out where it has been used https://www.hmgpaint.com/products/decorative

If you require further information on the press release, please contact:
Gracienne Ikin or Stephen Dyson
HMG Paints
Communications
gikin@hmgpaint.com
sdyson@hmgpaint.com
0161 205 7631