Leisure centre wins £500,000 for solar panels

Barnsley Council has just over a fortnight to install solar panels paid for by the funding

Barnsley's flagship leisure centre is set to cut thousands from its energy bills after securing nearly half a million pounds in funding for solar panels.

The £499,414 grant from the government's Swimming Pool Support Fund will pay for rooftop photovoltaic panels at the Metrodome Leisure Complex.

Barnsley Council bosses said the money, awarded by Sport England, would slash running costs, cut carbon emissions and future-proof the popular swimming and fitness venue on Queens Road.

A late awarding of the funds means the council faces a tight turnaround, but it said having the works finished by 31 August would be achievable.

An underspend in phase two of the £80m national fund led to the change in decision from Sport England, which notified most applicants of their outcome in January 2024.

Phase two has focused on making centres more energy-efficient and sustainable in the long term.

In November 2023, the centre had secured £400,000 from phase one to assist with increasing costs of running its swimming pools.

The new panels will save an estimated £45,000 in energy bills and cut 323.6 tonnes of CO2 emissions over their lifetime.

Without the grant, it would have taken more than a decade for the investment to pay for itself, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The panels will be owned by Barnsley Council, but the centre's operator Barnsley Premier Leisure will take on responsibility for repairs, maintenance and eventual replacement.

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