Council shelves £1.2m leisure centre plans

Changing areas at the leisure centre were reinstated and a new combined air source heat pump was installed

Councillors have shelved £1.2m of decarbonisation plans for a leisure centre after a meeting heard it would not reduce costs.

Members of Torridge District Council in Devon were told although a new installation at Holsworthy Leisure Centre would achieve "substantial" carbon savings, it could actually cost more to run the facility over time, said the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The centre will now not have its 13-year-old oil boilers replaced with an air source heat pump system for heating the swimming pool and sports hall.

Councillors were satisfied other energy efficiency measures that were installed over the past seven months were doing enough.

These measures included a new roof and doors, triple glazing, solar panels and draft proofing.

Adrian Redwood, major projects manager for the council, said the boilers were performing adequately and he expected them to continue to function without being too stressed.

He said changing areas were reinstated and a new combined air source heat pump and ventilation system would "significantly improve" the internal environment and comfort levels.

The work so far was largely funded by grants from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, the Rural Prosperity Fund and Sport England, it said.