DROITWICH’S brine baths complex will not open its doors again and its owners have been forced to cough up £200,000 in compensation.

BMI Healthcare decided paying that to Wychavon District Council, from which the firm has leased the land, presented a much better deal than forking out large sums of money on repairs needed to bring the building back up to scratch.

According to figures quoted to the council earlier in the year, BMI would have had to spend £120,000 on repairs and, due to low member numbers, would have potentially lost a further £50,000 by the time the lease binding the firm to provide brine baths in the town for 25 years would have run out next September. BMI refused to comment on those figures yesterday.

Council leader Paul Middlebrough said: “This is clearly a blow for spa residents, but the £200,000 we have negotiated will provide a positive reinvestment in the town that will help us to keep a brine experience in the town.”

William Moy, from campaign group SOBBS (Save Our Brine Baths), said: “Talk of a ‘brine experience’ is very worrying. The brine baths need to be replaced and needs to use the same brine source.”

A taskforce including representatives from the town council, Droitwich Area Partnership and For Droitwich Spa, which represents the business sector, has now been set up to discuss how best the money can be used.

Councillor Pam Davey, who is chairman of the Droitwich Area Partnership, said: “This is a sad day for Droitwich Spa, but we must now seek to seize the opportunity to ensure that our spa town maintains its brine heritage.“ We previously reported how BMI Healthcare suddenly closed the brine baths on the Droitwich Hospital site in St Andrew’s Road in December last year, blaming health and safety inspections as the reason. However, it was a move that violated a lease agreement originally signed with the General Healthcare Group nearly 25 years ago.

A spokesman for Droitwich Spa Hospital, which is owned by BMI, said: “Instead of us investing in the fabric of the existing brine bath, at this late stage in that agreement, we believe that it is more appropriate and beneficial to the community for us to provide the council with funds to invest in a new brine-related leisure facility. That will ensure that the town has a long term resource that reflects its brine heritage.”

Wychavon expects to complete the formalities with BMI in the next two weeks.