A BRIGHT idea is set to slash energy bills at a Leamington leisure centre.
Solar panels have been installed on the roof of Newbold Comyn Leisure Centre, providing clean energy to power the building’s swimming facilities.
A grant of £234,000 from phase two of the Sport England Swimming Pool Support Fund was awarded to Warwick District Council for the leisure centre – operated by Everyone Active – last year for the installation of the panels, which are predicted to save 28.3 tonnes of carbon emissions and provide an energy bill saving of around £31,931 per year.
The government’s Swimming Pool Support Fund provides a total of £60million to local authorities in England who provide public swimming leisure facilities and are feeling the pressure of increasing costs.
This is the second round of funding won by the council from the fund – £165,641 was awarded under phase one towards increased energy costs. Leisure Energy has acted as principal contractor and designer on the installation and assisted with the funding application.
WDC’s decarbonisation spokesperson Coun Lowell Williams said: “The council’s corporate strategy has low cost, low carbon energy as one of its top priorities, with the decarbonisation of our public buildings high on that agenda.
“I’m delighted to see that the installation has now been completed, and that our public swimming facilities at Newbold Comyn are operated with the help of clean energy, reducing both emissions and energy bills.”
Peggy Lee, group sustainability manager for Everyone Active, added: “It is great news to have more onsite renewable energy generation, which will further reduce the centre’s carbon footprint going forward. Everyone Active is proud to work alongside the council in meeting their net zero ambitions, which is the most important part of our own net zero strategy.”
