Sale hopes flounder at former city baths

The latest move to sell Wolverhampton's Grade II-listed Heath Town Baths has stalled, it emerged today.

The council, which has been marketing the site for months, said that none of the expressions of interest were being taken forward.

The baths closed down in 2002 and the library on the same site closed in 2006. Plans are in the pipeline for the rundown building to be brought back into use, and residents have called for it to be redeveloped amid concerns it is a blot on the area as well as a magnet for yobs and prostitutes.

The baths site was marketed last summer by property consultant Bruton Knowles, but city officials could only say today that the expressions of interest proved not to be commercially viable.

City council spokesman Gurdip Thandi said: "Our property services team is exploring future options with officers in conservation on how best to proceed in the future.

"A recent extensive marketing exercise attracted interested inquiries, which ultimately could not be demonstrated to be economically viable in the current market."

The baths, in Tudor Road, date back to the 1930s.

As the building is Grade II-listed it cannot be knocked down, and the only option is to retain the structure and convert it inside.

Possible uses put forward include a community facility, health care, offices, a residential development or a health and fitness conversion.

Previous plans to sell the site to a developer in 2008 so it could be turned into homes were put on the back burner because of the credit crunch, coupled with opposition to a residential development from people living nearby because of concerns about traffic congestion.

Some have suggested the site would also be ideal for a business enterprise.

Heath Town ward's Councillor Milkinder Jaspal said today: "The site is a very important part of the community.

"We really need to do something, but we need to do the right thing."