Bedford Borough Council has been successful in obtaining £242,800 from the Government and Sports England as part of their Swimming Pool Support Fund for Kempston Pool.
The funding will provide rooftop solar panels as well as improved metering and controls. The installation of Solar Panels at Kempston will provide long-term cost and energy efficiency savings. This will enable the site to become 36% self-sufficient from the grid, providing the council with the opportunity to invest in further energy efficiency technology and potentially battery storage to further decarbonise the site.
Administered by Sport England, the fund provides a total of £80million to local authorities in England as a support package for public leisure facilities with swimming pools.
Councillor Sarah Gallagher, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Culture, said "We are thrilled to have received this funding for Kempston Pool. The swimming pool is a well-used, loved, community asset. We recognise what a valued local community resource this pool is and how important swimming pools are in helping our residents to be physically active.
"Obtaining this funding demonstrates our commitment to ensuring that the borough has a leisure offer that we can all be proud of, and has been obtained at a very exciting time for leisure in Bedford Borough. I am sure that our residents have already noticed an improvement at all our Leisure sites as we are working closely with our new leisure provider - Greenwich Leisure Limited, to improve all our sites."
Swimming is a great way for individuals across all age groups to maintain an active lifestyle, offering manifold benefits to both physical and mental well-being.
Councillor Gallagher added, "I would encourage residents that haven’t yet had the opportunity to visit their local leisure site, to do so and to see the difference our investment in these facilities has made. Although the Oasis Beach Pool is currently closed to allow essentials works to take place, we are excited by the progress that is being made there and will soon be able to announce the date for its reopening."
Find out more about all the sites at www.better.org.uk