Liz Lynne joins call to save Droitwich Spa's historic brine baths

11.18.00am GMT Wed 11th Nov 2009

Liz Lynne MEP meeting LibDem councillors and residents campaigning to save Droitwich's brine baths

Following her support of the 2005 campaign to save the Droitwich Lido, Liz Lynne MEP has joined local campaigners to save the Spa's brine baths.

Liz Lynne visited Droitwich on Friday November 6th and met members of the campaign group 'Save Our Brine Baths' and local Councillors to lend her support to their campaign.

The Droitwich Brine Baths were closed down last year by company BMI Healthcare which managed the site, leading to a much publicised breach of their 25 year lease agreement with the District Council. Since then, discussions have been ongoing about the future of the baths, but these have met with opposition from some local councillors and residents.

Local LibDem Councillor Stephanie Vale's involvement began when she heard that the Council were floating plans to turn the baths into a 'brine experience'.

Cllr Vale said at the meeting: "I very much believe that these baths should remain as baths. They are a central part of the town's historical identity and I fear that the Council's new taskforce that has been set up to make the plans may take the whole concept of the brine baths away."

She has been joined in her concerns by a number of local residents, led by William Moy who participated in the Lido campaign. They have formed the 'Save Our Brine Baths' or 'SOBBS' Group which is actively campaigning not only to ensure the right future for the baths, but to make sure that residents get a say in their future.

Worcestershire MEP Liz Lynne said: "There is very strong feeling amongst the local residents in particular that they must be involved in decisions over the brine baths' future. Campaigners have already collected thousands of signatures from local people who feel the same about keeping the brine baths in their traditional form.

"I hope that planners will listen to their concerns and ideas. Brine has been a key part of Droitwich's heritage since Roman times and the salt mines and subsequent baths are what put the town on the map."

"I fully support the campaign to save the brine baths and will continue to liaise with Cllr Vale and the campaign group to see how the situation pans out. I hope I will be able be of more help when the future is more certain and will look into what EU funding may be available."

Commenting on behalf of the action group, William Moy said: "SOBBS has recently been told that we do not have a place on the Council's taskforce, so we are now very concerned that decisions over the future of the brine baths may be undertaken without public consultation.

"We will continue to campaign independently to save the baths, as we did with the Lido, which we all know was and continues to be a huge success. We were all reassured by Liz Lynne's positive attitude in this matter and thank her for her ongoing input."