Cost of living: Leisure centre may drop pool temperature over cost

Sporting bodies are calling for more government support for energy costs

A community leisure centre has said it may have to reduce the temperature of its swimming pool as it struggles to deal with rising energy costs.

Kidsgrove Sports Centre Community Group in Staffordshire said its annual energy bill would set them back £300,000, but it had only budgeted for £70,000.

Last month, a fitness industry trade body has warned facilities would close without more government help.

The government said billions had already been spent on winter support.

"Even though we're doing so well with community support, ultimately when your energy costs have gone up by around 300%, you're never going to be able to fully get back that difference," said the Kidsgrove group's chair, Mark Clewes.

"The reality is our 29C pool, if we are to see the increase in costs as projected, we are going to have to look at everything."

Rethink

The government is scaling back its energy support scheme from April to focus on heavy energy-using sectors, which currently does not include the leisure sector.

Earlier this week, a coalition of almost 200 sports governing bodies, health organisations and athletes warned without support, there would be "an escalation of service reductions and closures".

Mr Clewes said there needed to be a rethink to help leisure centres and gyms stay open.

"Kidsgrove was one of the places where they had high rates of child obesity and it only gets worse based on the fact that facilities were closed," he said.

"When you take away the ability for people to access leisure and you take away that ability to have aspiration, ultimately you're taking away that ability to get healthy."

The government has announced it is scaling back energy subsidies for businesses for the next financial year to £5.5bn.

The current scheme has been described as "unsustainably expensive" by the chancellor and was predicted to cost about £18.4bn in six months, according to official forecasters.

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