Nottingham cooler pools claim was made in error

The council said temperatures had not been adjusted

The leader of Nottingham City Council incorrectly said swimming pool temperatures had been lowered at the authority's leisure facilities.

David Mellen made the claim during a scrutiny committee meeting on 9 November.

He said pools had been made cooler in response to rising fuel costs and that some users had complained.

However, the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which covered the meeting, said it now understood this was wrong.

Mr Mellen made the comments at a scrutiny committee meeting on 9 November

Mr Mellen told the meeting: "I think there is a huge element of the budget which is inflation-based.

"Fuel costs are having a varying effect so clearly, when we do things like running swimming pools, we have slightly changed the temperature of the pools.

"We have received people saying 'it's too cold in your pools', so you know there is a balance there because you still want people to use your facilities but we don't want to heat things more than we need to."

The Local Democracy Reporting Service, which accurately reported on the meeting, said it now understood the claim was incorrect.

Mr Mellen had a conversation with leisure service bosses at some point before the meeting, where a range of energy-saving measures had been put on the table, including lowering pool temperatures, but this was not acted upon.

When the leader of the Labour-run authority said users had complained about lower temperatures, it is thought to have been a mix-up with a separate issue.

Active Nottingham, which is part of the council, runs several leisure centres with pools across the city.

It states on its website that pool temperatures for large pools sit between 29C and 30C while smaller pools are typically between 31C and 32C, depending on the centre.

The council confirmed temperatures had not been adjusted as part of energy-saving measures.