Cleveland Pools appoint Project Director
With £4.7m funding secured from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF), the Cleveland Pools Trust has appointed a full-time director to manage and deliver the project, which is scheduled for completion in spring/summer 2021. Anna Baker joined the Trust on 3 June and will be based at Northgate House in Bath.
A trained architect and project manager, Anna comes to the Cleveland Pools Trust following a career break driving from the UK to Kyrgyzstan and back. Anna’s experience of historic buildings includes working in-house for the Grade II* Harrods department store and leading projects of up to £8m, as well as in a consultant role in a commercial surveying and project management firm, APS Ltd in London. She also has first hand knowledge of working on logistically-challenging sites, having completed a self-build on a Scottish island with no nearby public road access or water supply.
“I’m thrilled to be appointed and excited to lead the Cleveland Pools project into the delivery phase,” says Anna. “We’re all looking forward to returning this hidden gem to its former glory as a beloved community asset for future generations.”
Honorary president, Ann Dunlop, who co-founded the Cleveland Pools Trust, commented: “I’d like to extend a very warm welcome to Anna on behalf of the Trust and all of our amazing volunteers who have worked tirelessly to raise funds and bring the project to this exciting stage. With Anna on board, we can now move quickly towards the critical phases of the project as we appoint contractors, begin the restoration and raise further funds.”
Further roles with the Trust
The Trust is also advertising two further paid roles to support the project director and the trustees: a full-time Finance & Administrative Officer and a part-time Community Liaison & Volunteer Officer. Details of these are on the Trust’s website here with a closing date for applications of 29 June 2019. Anna added, “We are also seeking a volunteer to lead our marketing and PR so do please look at our website if you feel you could help us with this important role.”
Project update
“A lot of work has been going on behind the scenes since we received the green light from the National Lottery Heritage Fund last December,” says Ann Dunlop. “The NLHF award of £4.7m required us to find match funding, which has now been achieved. However as some of this is in the form of a loan from the Architectural Heritage Fund, fundraising continues
and we have put in place a number of initiatives and planned events.
“We are also preparing an extensive programme of community involvement for the duration of the delivery period. We’ll be publicising further details of this once we appoint a Community Liaison & Volunteer Officer.”
The consultant team is now preparing documents to tender for a contractor to carry out the construction aspects of the project. Practical work is programmed to start early next year following the appointment of the contractor this autumn/winter.
