The historic Birley Spa Bath House in Hackenthorpe, Sheffield, is up for sale. An exciting opportunity has presented itself to preserve one of the few remaining Victorian Bath Houses in Britain by taking it into co-operative ownership, restoring its iconic plunge pool to its original intended use, and restoring its pleasure gardens to their pre-WW2 heyday.

Built in 1842 by the Earl Manvers, Lord of the Manor of Beighton, as a luxury resort to compete with Buxton. A charity fund was also set up so that 'the poor' could 'take the waters.' Granted Grade 2 listed status in 1960, the Spa currently stands empty, but has huge potential as a community asset for the residents of Hackenthorpe, Sheffield and beyond. It provides an opportunity to bring new employment to the area, at a time when areas across the city are suffering from a lack of community cohesion.

The recently formed Friends of Birley Spa group intend to ensure the future prosperity of the Birley Spa Bath House as a public asset, saving the building and the plunge pool from developers who may choose to convert it into housing. The creation of a co-operative provides the opportunity to buy Birley Spa and operate it as a local enterprise, accountable to the local community. Around the country, local people are taking charge of their local assets, so that they have real control over their local community.

A minimum fee of £10 of will give you membership of the Birley Spa Community Society. Your involvement beyond that is up to you, but regardless of the amount you pay, you will be guaranteed the same voting rights as other members. You can vote at Annual General Meetings, stand for election to the Board, volunteer skills for the refurbishment, or give the Spa your custom and support.

The Friends of Birley Spa have agreed that the minimum target for our share issue will be £70,000 which is the lower estimate of the bathhouse at auction. There is however, the possibility that a sale or handover can still be arranged with the Council, who are the current owners of the site, if they can be persuaded that the best interests of the building lay in a community handover. One of the best ways we can do this is to maximise the number of investors, showing how widespread support is for the building to remain in public hands

The Friends of Birley Spa brings together local people and community groups such as Shirebrook Valley Heritage Group, and is also in negotiation with national stakeholders such as Historic England, The Heritage Lottery Fund and the Victorian Society. We invite you to review our preliminary project plan here and to contact us for further details. Join us, and save the historic Birley Spa bathhouse!

Those who purchase membership will be refunded automatically if the crowdfunder reaches its minimum target.