The summer of 1974 saw the opening of a new swimming pool in Dundee which provided children with unforgettable childhood memories. Dundee Central Baths at the harbour were replaced with the Dundee Swimming and Leisure Centre. Architects were invited to submit plans when new baths were needed which included some very ambitious designs.
Plans submitted by James Parr & Partners in 1971 were approved after much deliberation and work started shortly afterwards. The pool was originally meant to be part of a larger leisure complex on the waterfront, including a cinema, theatre and conference facilities. In the end, however, only the swimming pool and Tayside House were built.
The centre was finished almost a year behind schedule. Construction of the pool complex was delayed by a shortage of construction workers, distribution problems and the three-day week to conserve coal stocks. The Baths Committee were at loggerheads with main contractor Tensa Construction with a number of major items still outstanding by May 1974.
Treasurer Ron Tosh said he wished to amend the minutes to show the committee were “no longer prepared to accept the excuses handed out by these contractors”. An Evening Telegraph advertising feature in July 1974 said every man, woman and child in the city would have “access to this millionaire’s playground”. The Tele said: “With £1.
5m worth of materials and imagination, you could build a recreational paradise. “It has already been done – right on our d.