Community Sauna Baths will now open on 8th September after initially planning to open the Blackhorse Road site in the Spring, reports Marco Marcelline
A brand new community sauna in Walthamstow is set to open on Monday, 8th September.
Community Sauna Baths CIC, who already run several saunas across the capital, had initially projected to open in Sutherland Road in the Spring, but Waltham Forest Council only granted planning approval in mid-April.
The 1550 square-metre site is situated on a parcel of land that was formerly a car park and is roughly a twelve minute walk from Blackhorse Road Station.
Alongside six cold plunge pools situated in the centre of the sauna complex, there will be a plunge sauna, a traditional German aufguss sauna, and a garden sauna.
The sauna will operate until November 2027 at which point it will be developed for mixed use, per agreed terms with the Greater London Authority, who own the land. The sauna has the option of prolonging their stay, if site re-development is delayed however.
The aufguss sauna will be housed inside a timber rotunda with a cedar shingle roof.
Once inside, sauna users will be able to experience the aufguss ritual which involves a “master” pouring water onto hot stones and waving a towel at bathers to circulate steam around the sauna.
Meanwhile, the sauna reception will be housed within a blue shipping container with a plant roof while the changing area will be fit with wire mesh lockers, three toilets, and ten cubicles.
Dimmed bulb lighting will be installed around the sauna complex in order to add ambience to the area.
In addition to the sauna facilities, there will be a community garden filled with native plants and flowers run in partnership with Nomadic Community Gardens CIC.
The community garden will be fully open to the public for gardening sessions on Saturdays and Sundays between 10am and 5pm. Visitors will be able to reach the garden via a pedestrian path from Sutherland Road that circumvents the sauna, allowing both to function separately during operational hours.
The sauna is currently aiming to raise £230,000 in eight weeks to invest in its future expansion.
The money would go towards taking on the lease at 80 Eastway, along with urgent infrastructure upgrades including repairs of the hall and kitchen, and expanding its social prescribing programme into Camberwell and Walthamstow, and sustaining free and low-cost events for underrepresented and local community groups.
You can donate to the fundraiser here
No news is bad news
Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.
The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.
If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.
Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.
Monthly direct debit
Annual direct debit
£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.
More information on supporting us monthly or annually
More Information about donations
