CLOSURE should have spelled the end for Govanhill Baths.

 

But when Glasgow City Council said the Edwardian steamie - now celebrating its centenary - must close, local people said a defiant "no".

And 14 years on from the council plan to shut the building, the South Side hub is a hive of activity - bringing culture, sport and politics to the former swimming baths.

The main pool, drained of water, is now the site of art exhibitions, theatre, public meetings - and will next month host its first wedding.

Its vibrancy is all thanks to a dedicated team of people working for the Govanhill Community Baths Trust to keep the B-listed building afloat.

Some 57 different groups use the Calder Street venue for activities as diverse as cooking sessions, music lessons, fashion shows, cinema and childbirth classes.

When the council tried to shut Govanhill Baths in 2001 the move sparked the longest continuous occupation of a civic building in British history.

Govanhill Community Baths Trust was formed to care for the building, which it leases from Glasgow City Council.

Community group Romano Lav, a group for the Roma, uses the pool, as does Castlemilk Law Centre.

The Southside Fringe and Southside Film Festival both base themselves in the Baths, and it will host sections of the Glasgow Comedy Festival.

Cooking group Govanhill Grub can be found giving cookery classes in the centre while Unplugged Games, Govanhill Children's Choir and Rags to Riches sewing group are all based there.

Artist Helen de Main, who works in the Baths, said: "The building is always busy and always vibrant.

"When you come in the front door you never know what you're going to find happening."

One of the most prolific groups is Govanhill Theatre Group, which has already formed an array of sell-out shows - including with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre of Scotland - despite having only formed last year.

Founded by artistic director Bruce Downie, the group aims to turn one of the smaller pool spaces into a permanent theatre.

Setting the bar high, Bruce's new theatre group kicked off with one of the world's most famous plays backed by one of the most famous theatre companies.

It performed an all-female version of Hamlet with support from the Royal Shakespeare Company inside the main swimming pool.

Bruce said: "We started building the stage for Hamlet - which was huge - in January and it took us until March to complete the thing.

"We then had to take it all back down again for the Glasgow International Festival, which was exhibiting inside the pool, before putting it back up again with just days to spare before opening night.

"But it was all worth it to start off life with a production like Hamlet."

As community theatre, group is open to, Bruce said, "anyone and everyone" and takes on actors and stage crew alike.

It also worked with the National Theatre of Scotland to put on a production of Lifeguard, which saw the audience invited to swim in the toddler pool - filled for the occasion.

Among many other performances, famous Scottish play The Steamie was played out last year - in the building's steamie.

Bruce said: "We still want to use the big pool but that has to be for epic productions. It's a venue for Shakespeare. A more modern play suits the small space we are developing.

"In the smaller pool area we will be building a stage and a seating bank.

"One of the interesting things for community theatre is doing big, popular productions that do well in order to fund the newer productions, to allow you to take a risk once in a while.

"We are constantly encouraging people to come in and get involved. Govanhill doesn't get well served for culture and in a way we are providing something for local people to enjoy as well as something that people will travel from other parts of the city to come and see."

He added: "We are creating something here for the community. It takes people time to realise there's an asset here but it's about taking ownership of this space, a space that would otherwise crumble if we weren't here, it would fall apart otherwise.

"Govanhill Baths is not just an asset for Govanhill but for the whole of Glasgow.

"We have a struggle on our hands to keep this place running but we are doing what we can - and doing pretty well."