Funding success for Worcester swimming pool solar panels
Worcester City Council has received £195,000 from the government
Last updated 15th Apr 2024
A local council is celebrating, after the announcement of a successful funding bid.
Worcester City Council has been awarded £195,000 from the Government's Swimming Pool Support Fund (SPSF) to add solar panels to the roof of Perdiswell Leisure Centre, alongside an upgrade to the leisure facility's building management system.
The panels, to be installed by March 2025, will see carbon emissions at the leisure facility reduced by 84 tonnes a year. The panels will be installed alongside a unit that will utilise excess power produced during the summer months to heat water for the showers, fans that will recirculate warm air to reduce heating demand, and an energy-efficient water recovery system that will clean and re-use water.
The City Council was also successful in obtaining a further £59,750 from the SPSF on behalf of Worcester Citizens' Swimming Baths Association for solar panels and a building management system upgrade at the swimming pool at Lower Wick in Worcester.
Worcester City Council has been implementing its Environmental Sustainability Strategy since 2019; this latest project at Perdiswell is part of the strategy's overarching aim to decarbonise the city.
The City Council's Director of Operations, Homes and Communities, Lloyd Griffiths, said: "We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded these much-needed funds, which will help drive down energy usage at Perdiswell Leisure Centre after a period when the rises in energy bills have been very challenging. That, combined with the environmental benefits of these new technologies, will ensure the future of one of Worcester's most popular leisure facilities."
Rob Tyler, Area Manager at Freedom Leisure, which operates Perdiswell Leisure Centre on the Council's behalf, said: "Supporting people and communities to be more active and healthy is at the heart of everything we do and we are delighted that we will be able to continue to do this whilst reducing our carbon emissions. We would like to thank the Council and everyone involved in the successful application."
Perdiswell Leisure Centre hosts Worcester's flagship swimming facilities, which opened in 2017 as part of a £10.5 million investment. The eight-lane 25-metre competition standard pool and smaller teaching pool both operate seven days a week, providing weekly swimming lessons to more than 2,500 children and adults, and hosting regional competitions.