The ageing King Alfred swimming pool has received a £205,000 boost from Sport England which will help to prolong its life.
The funding, from Phase 2 of the Swimming Pool Support Fund, will go towards replacing two of the 40-year-old boilers with new, more sustainable, energy efficient models.
The support will help to keep the King Alfred pool open and operational while a decision is made on replacing the centre with a new state of the art leisure facility.
Replacing the boilers
Councillor Alan Robins, chair of the Culture, Heritage, Sports, Tourism and Economic Development Committee, said: “We welcome this funding from the Swimming Pool Support Fund which will help us to replace the 40-year-old boilers and complement the work which began last week to upgrade the pool hall heating and ventilation system.
“We will continue to do everything we can to keep the centre open for as long as possible, so residents continue to enjoy swimming, while we progress our exciting plans to build a new leisure centre.”
The King Alfred is one of more than 300 facilities with swimming pools across the country which have been awarded funding from the Government and Sport England’s £60 million capital investment programme, to improve the energy efficiency of public facilities with pools in the medium to long term.
The funding includes £20m from Sport England via the National Lottery and just over £40m provided by the Government.
Vital community resources
Lisa Dodd-Mayne, Sport England Executive Director – Place said: “Swimming pools and leisure centres are vital community resources and are enormously important in helping people to be physically active.
“Many pools have faced a real and significant threat to their survival this year, as local authorities and operators have battled the challenge of increased energy and wider costs, weakened reserves and difficulties with retaining staff.”
“We hope today’s funding announcement will enable more public pools to improve their energy efficiency and be more environmentally and financially sustainable.”
Health benefits
Sports Minister Stuart Andrew added: “Millions of people swim every year in England, but high energy costs mean some pools are struggling financially.
“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.”