Northallerton pool receives invests six figures into green upgrades

Northallerton’s swimming pool will be closed to the public while new equipment is introduced to help to cut energy costs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

The £350,000 new air handling unit at the town’s leisure centre, which circulates air throughout the building to provide an optimum environment for the centre’s wide range of activities, will also provide energy savings and contribute towards efforts to reduce emissions.

The Leisure Centre at Stone Cross has already benefited from £4.7m in funding from the Government awarded to reduce carbon emissions in four centres, Stokesley, Bedale, Thirsk and Northallerton. That was spent on new heat pumps, solar panels, LED lights and other infrastructure, which saw its emissions drop by 57 per cent.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for Leisure, Cllr Simon Myers, said: “We apologise for the inconvenience the closure of the pool will cause but it is essential we do this update on the facility. Making our leisure centres greener is an important priority for the council. As we carry out essential building upgrades, we must explore opportunities to reduce our carbon footprint to help to meet our net zero targets.”

Work at the centre started this month (May), but contractors need to move indoors from Saturday, June 3, when the pool will be drained. Both the pool and the sauna will be closed. They are expected to reopen on Monday, July 17.

The former Hambleton District Council was awarded the £4.7m grant from the Government as part of the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme launched by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and delivered by private company, Salix.

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily