Aylestone: Hundreds of solar panels installed on leisure centre

Adam Clarke said the solar panels were part of the city's response to the climate emergency

The leaking roof of a Leicester leisure centre has been replaced and covered in solar panels.

Leicester City Council has completed a £1.1m scheme to generate clean electricity at Aylestone Leisure Centre using 800 panels.

The council has also installed new insulation on the roof of the building and said the measures would cut its annual energy costs by £70,000.

It said the scheme would save more than 60 tonnes of carbon emissions a year.

The work was part of continuing plans to make public buildings across the city, more energy efficient and cheaper to run, the council said.

Deputy city mayor Adam Clarke said the leisure centre solar array was the largest completed by the council to date, covering an area greater than 12 tennis courts.

He described it as an "important step forward" in the city's response to the climate emergency.

The council began work on the solar panels in March keeping the leisure centre open throughout the construction.