St Ives Leisure Centre to receive money in recent government fund

Date posted 25 Mar 2024
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St Ives Leisure Centre and Helston Sports Centre have both been awarded Swimming Pool Support Fund Round 2 capital grants to support the reduction in energy use of their swimming pools.

 

Following GLL's success with round one revenue funding of £449,168 for six of the counties swimming pools, the local charitable social enterprise has now been successfully awarded £207,000 to help reduce energy consumption. £157,000 for St Ives Leisure Centre to install solar panels and energy efficient pool pumps and £50,000 for Helston Sports Centre to install solar panels.  

 

The application to Sport England's £60m Swimming Pool Support Fund was completed by Cornwall Council in partnership with Cornwall's swimming pool operators in the Autumn, with £40 million provided by government and a further £20 million from lottery funding. As with the revenue funding the scheme was heavily oversubscribed with awards being made to just over 300 swimming pools across England.

 

James Curry, Head of Service for GLL said:

 

'This award is fantastic news for the future sustainability of St Ives and Helston swimming pools. GLL has worked hard to reduce the Leisure Centre's carbon footprint and energy consumption since being awarded the contract for Cornwall's Leisure Centres, reducing energy consumption by 48%, or over 8 million Kwh's to date across the 9 Leisure Centres we operate.  We are very grateful to Sport England the DCMS and Cornwall Council for their support with this award, which will support GLL's ongoing journey to ensure our Cornish swimming pools are sustainable. The money has to be spent by early 2025, so we are now working hard with Cornwall Council to progress our projects in line with the terms of the award.'

 

Sports Minister Stuart Andrew said:  

 “Millions of people swim every year in England, but high energy costs mean some pools are struggling financially. I know from personal experience the health benefits of getting down to your local pool, whether that’s just for a few lengths, to swim with friends, or a water aerobics class. This further £60 million of support from the Government and Sport England will make hundreds of swimming pools more energy efficient so they can keep offering their vital community and health benefits for generations to come.”