A programme of decarbonisation and energy saving improvement works are due to begin at leisure centres in Penrith and Appleby, totalling £1 million in investments.
Westmorland and Furness Council received funding from Phase 2 of Sport England’s Swimming Pool Support Fund to make Appleby and Penrith Leisure Centres more energy efficient and sustainable. As part of the council’s ongoing programme of decarbonisation work, planning permission has been submitted to install solar PV panels and upgrade swimming pool windows to triple glazing at both centres.
The council is contributing additional funding to make further improvements to the building structures, to complement the decarbonisation works and help to reduce energy usage and costs. Penrith Leisure Centre will see roofing maintenance works and additional insulation installed, whilst Appleby Leisure Centre will benefit from upgrades made to its roofing insulation and an automatic door closer will be added.
To allow these works to happen safely for leisure centre users and staff, the swimming pools at both centres will require partial closures for three weeks.
From 3 March at Appleby Leisure Centre and 10 March at Penrith Leisure Centre, all swimming pools will be open from 6.30am to 7.30am. They will then close to allow works to take place during the day. The pools will reopen at 5pm and will be open as usual at weekends. The works are being carried out during weekdays to reduce the disruption as much as possible. Club activities can carry on as normal at weekends, with some small changes potentially needed on weekdays.
During the works at Penrith Leisure Centre, alternative changing facilities will be available via the dry side changing rooms, with access provided to the swimming pools.
Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) who manage the buildings on behalf of the council will be in contact with pool membership holders and swimming lesson customers with further information before the works begin. Most Swim School lessons will be unaffected due to the evening and weekend openings; GLL will contact any swimming lesson customers who are affected individually.
GLL are contacting schools directly to discuss alternative health and physical activity sessions.
All options have been considered to limit the disruption to pool users, but unfortunately due to contractors completing the works and scaffolding being installed in the pool halls, the pools will need to close between 7.30am and 5pm on weekdays while work is carried out.
During the works, Penrith and Appleby memberships will be accepted at all other GLL Cumbria Centres, the closest being Kendal Leisure Centre, The Sands Centre, Carlisle and Cockermouth Leisure Centre. Full timetables for these centres are available on the GLL website and in the centres. Sessions for these alternative centres, plus those still running early morning, evenings and weekends at Appleby and Penrith leisure centres, will be available to book via the Better UK app, the GLL contact centre and at GLL leisure centre reception desks.
On completion of the triple glazing project, work will start on the solar PV installations onto the sports hall roof at Penrith Leisure Centre; this is expected to take 17 weeks. Scaffolding will be installed externally around the building so there may be some disruption to access for some areas while this work takes place, but all affected users will be contacted prior to the works starting.
It is great to see this work underway and once all stages of the project are completed, the combined energy saving measures will bring estimated lifetime carbon savings of 1625 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), the equivalent of taking over 460 long haul flights from London to Hong Kong.
Cllr Virginia Taylor, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Communities and Localities said:
“Westmorland and Furness have some great facilities where everyone can keep active and maintain their health and wellbeing. Swimming is particularly good exercise for people of all ages and levels of fitness – it’s kind to joints and a good cardiovascular workout, while learning water safety is extremely important for our children and young people.”
“Swimming pools are a key resource for so many reasons - but they consume an alarming amount of heating fuel, so I am delighted that we have some funding from Sport England’s Swimming Pool Support Fund to introduce energy saving measures at Penrith and Appleby Leisure Centres and make other improvements to the buildings as well.”
“These works will be good for the budget, good for the planet, and make the centres even more pleasant environments where everyone is welcome to come and get fit or fitter.”
Cllr Giles Archibald, Cabinet Member for Climate, Biodiversity and Environmental Services, said:
“Our vision for Westmorland and Furness is to be a great place to live, work and thrive, and to provide leadership in the drive to become carbon net zero.”
“The council is determined to reduce its carbon footprint as quickly as possible. This is a great step in that direction and I am very grateful to Sports England and council officers for this programme of decarbonisation.”