Mutterings about the inadequacy of the baths provision resumed once this crisis had been resolved and as the end of 1886 approached a golden opportunity to address this problem was seized. The country as a whole was being encouraged to mark the next year as the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne.

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Mayor Tempest Radford proposed the construction of  a new suite of public baths and swimming pool that would be 'the best in the Midlands' as a suitable way to celebrate. His plans were received with general popular acclaim and he set about raising funds by public subscription to minimise the cost to ratepayers of his scheme. A total cost of some £4500 was envisaged.

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One group in the town was not seized with the wider enthusiasm for the Mayor's Jubilee project – these were the shopkeepers and small traders in  the town who already regarded the Council as being profligate with their taxes and protested that the baths were an unnecessary financial burden.