Where there’s a will, there’s a wave

The energy crisis is squeezing a lot of budgets right now and this of course includes local authorities. One of the highest energy costs for local authorities is the local swimming pool and this may be one of the areas that takes a hit when times are hard. GB takes a deep dive into what pools across the country are doing to stay afloat

Almost a year ago, The Guardian reported concerns that heating bill increases could lead to swimming pools going under. At the time, swimming’s governing body Swim England and ukactive, which represents gym and pool operators, met the sports minister Nigel Huddleston and asked for funding to keep pools from closing. Swim England chief executive, Jane Nickerson, said: “We need some acute support now. At the moment swimming is not viable unless it’s supported. Our real worry is that doors will just shut because operators will find they can’t afford to run their pools. We need a bailout now because you can’t suddenly make a pool energy efficient.”
    
For reference, it was reported by The Mirror around the same time, that then chancellor, now prime minister Rishi Sunak would be spending £13,000 a year heating a new swimming pool at his home in North Yorkshire.
    
At the time of the meeting in April 2022, Nickerson said the total energy bill for public pools for the coming year would be £1.25 billion, compared to £500 million in 2019. Let that sink in.

Going under
Then in November, Swim England warned again that the energy crisis was putting pools in deep trouble. The organisation warned that more than 100 pools were at risk of closure or a reduction in services in the next six months. In a consultation with national public leisure operators, ukactive members were asked to risk assess the current threat to their facilities – the results revealed that 40 per cent of council areas are at risk of losing their swimming pools and leisure centres.
    
Nickerson said: “Pools and leisure centres are vital parts of the community, improving the health and wellbeing of people of all ages.
    
“They help reduce pressure on the NHS and social care system, saving more than £350m pounds a year – as well as being a place where people of all ages can learn a skill that could one day save their life.
    
“However, they are particularly vulnerable to the rising energy prices as we are seeing now with increased closures and service reductions.
    
“Our fear is that more than 100 pools are under threat in the next six months.
    
“That would be a devastating blow for the millions who rely on being active in the water for their physical and mental health.
    
“Without additional support, the situation will only deteriorate further which would be an absolute tragedy.”
    
Huw Edwards, ukactive CEO, said: “We are now seeing daily announcements of public sector leisure facilities either restricting services, at threat of closure, or closing permanently due to the energy crisis.
    
“This is the sad reality of the accurate projections ukactive made to the Government earlier this year, and a tragedy for local communities which are losing trusted, essential services that support the physical and mental wellbeing of the communities they serve.
    
“The Government needs to intervene now, and we remain committed to bringing together operator members, alongside representatives across local government, to explore all options available to stem the flow of closures.”
    
Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson, chair of the LGA’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Board, said: “This research reveals the precarious future of our leisure services, which have a critical role to play in helping our communities recover from COVID-19, both physically and mentally, and tackle issues like obesity, heart disease and diabetes, reducing the burden on the NHS and social care.
    
“Councils are working incredibly hard to prevent community facilities from closing, and understand that many people are facing rising individual costs, so have no desire to increase prices or adjust opening hours if it can be avoided.
    
“But rising energy costs pose a very real and significant issue for the sector.
    
“The Government must use the upcoming Autumn Budget to stabilise local government funding and invest directly in supporting the leisure sector, as was done during the pandemic through the £100m National Leisure Recovery Fund.
    
“Without sufficient support, councils will be forced to make difficult decisions about whether new facilities open, and whether existing centres are forced to close.”

Plea to the prime minister
In February this year, a coalition of almost 200 sports governing bodies, health organisations and top athletes wrote to the prime minister to warn about the impact of the energy crisis on gyms, pools and clubs. The letter said: “We are writing with an urgent plea for you to think again, and provide the necessary support to the sport, recreation, and physical activity sector during the ongoing energy crisis. The failure to do so will lead to an escalation of service reductions and closures at swimming pools, gyms, leisure centres, community facilities and clubs across the UK, impacting people of all ages and backgrounds.”
    
The letter which was signed by some of the country’s most famous pool users including Becky Adlington, Duncan Goodhew, Steve Parry, Mark Foster, Adrian Moorhouse, Sharron Davies, Matty Lee and Andrea Spendolini Sirieix, continued, “Sport, recreation, and physical activity is woven into the fabric of our communities, positively impacting the lives of millions of people across the nation. It creates positive experiences, memories, and habits we cherish across our whole lives, and often provides us with sanctuary and resilience in our most challenging of times, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
    
The letter was coordinated by a group of bodies, including: Active Partnerships, the Association for Public Service Excellence, the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity, the Chief Cultural & Leisure Officers Association, Community Leisure UK, District Councils’ Network, the Local Government Association, Sported, the Sport and Recreation Alliance, the Sport for Development Coalition, Swim England, the Swimming Teachers’ Association, the Youth Sport Trust, and ukactive.
    
In February, the latest data from UK active showed that around 31 per cent of council areas in England remain at risk of losing their leisure centre(s) or seeing reduced services at their leisure centre(s), from 1 April.
    
The letter says: “the failure to identify bespoke support for the sector (and schools operating sports facilities) as part of the Energy Bills Discount Scheme will be the final straw for many facilities and services – especially swimming pools” and calls on the government to reclassify swimming pools as energy intensive as part of the Energy Bills Discount Scheme so they have access to the higher level of discount on energy prices.

Staying afloat
However, despite the lack of support from central government, many pools across the country have implemented innovative solutions to stop from sinking.
    
Easton Leisure Centre, which is managed by Everyone Active in partnership with Bristol City Council, significantly reduced its heating bill by installing solar thermal technology. A solar hot warm system will heat the swimming pool with renewable energy.
    
Things are going swimmingly, as according to reports, within six weeks of installation (in the summer) the pool’s heating bill was reduced to zero.
    
Noel Hickman, general manager of Everyone Active said: “The water for the swimming pool is pumped through and around the tubes to heat up and then returns to the water to keep it a nice 30 degrees.
    
“This is part of Bristol City Council’s initiative for their green plan. The works took about three months to input the solar thermal tubes.
    
“When the energy provided isn’t sufficient to keep the pool at 30 degrees the gas boilers will kick in, which will happen more during the winter months.
    
“At the minute we are very lucky with the weather we’ve had, we’re saving around six pence per kilowatt hour.”
    
In Banbury, Cherwell District Council is making a splash by heating the outdoor pool at the Woodgreen Leisure Centre with one of largest solar thermal installations of its kind in the UK. The Council’s three other public pools, (Spiceball; Bicester; and Kidlington and Gosford) are being heated with new air source heat pumps.
    
Air source heat pumps work by drawing energy from the wider atmosphere.
    
Councillor Dan Sames, portfolio holder for cleaner and greener communities, said: “Reducing the carbon emissions from our leisure centres has been a high priority in this council’s drive to tackle climate change. Now, when you dive into the pool, go to the gym, or play a game of badminton you can rest in the knowledge that your carbon footprint has been reduced.
    
“Councils need to lead by example in driving forward the changes that are needed to address the climate emergency, and we are pleased to be so far ahead in making these ambitious schemes an everyday part of people’s visits to our leisure centres.
    
“We’ve been proactive in applying to the government for funding to make these improvements, and this comprehensive overhaul of our swimming pools is part of a programme that will eliminate around 25 per cent of our emissions by the end of 2022.”
    
Solar panels at Chesham Moor swimming pool in Buckinghamshire were installed in 2011, saving an estimated four tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. The power generated from the solar panels goes back into the grid, the payment for which is offset against the running costs of the pool. The pool is filled with “near chemical-free water” from a nearby artesian well.
    
Braintree swimming pool in Essex, has replaced the halogen lights above the pool with LED lighting, which is set to save 20KW of electricity an hour. Meanwhile, solar panels installed in 2016 produce an average of more than 17,000kwh of electricity every month.
    
Council health and well-being boss Peter Tattersley told Halstead Gazette: “We all need to make changes to help tackle climate change and that’s why we are pleased to have replaced our old lighting at the pool with LED lighting.
    
“Not only is the lighting great for swimmers and staff, but it also means we can cut back on our energy use, which is really important as the lights are on for around 10 hours a day.”

Redcar and Cleveland Council is set to start a public consultation on proposed new swimming baths in Eston which are set to feature sustainability measures including solar panels, air source heat pumps, and increased wall insulation.
    
Finally, Sheringham Reef swimming pool, in Norfolk will also be heated by solar panels installed in its carpark. The solar panels will be installed on steel beams above the car parking spaces.

Budget funding
In his most recent budget, chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced £63 million for public leisure centres and pools.
    
In his speech in parliament, Hunt said: “I have listened to representations from the hon members for East Devon, North Cornwall, Colne Valley and Central Suffolk and North Ipswich about the risk to community facilities, especially swimming pools, caused by high costs. When times are tough, such facilities matter even more.”
    
The money will be in a fund managed by Sport England and is aimed at helping the facilities with rising energy and maintenance costs, as well as helping them to become low-carbon and more energy efficient.
    
Sport England CEO Tim Hollingsworth said: “Swimming pools play a vital role in our communities and are enormously important in helping people to be physically active in their daily lives,” he said.
    
“We know how difficult the present situation is and have been working hard to ensure these providers get the support they need.
    
“We’ll now turn our efforts to supporting the process in the weeks ahead to distribute the funding made available today to ensure it goes where it is needed the most.”
    
While swimming pools are undoubtedly struggling and could do with more assistance, it is great to see councils finding innovative ways to heat their pools and reduce their bills and their carbon emissions at the same time. The recent budget announcement is also welcome and it is hoped this will provide a lifeline to facilities that are struggling at the moment.