A total of £117,000.00 was secured from Sport England as part of the second phase of the Government’s Swimming Pool Support Fund (SPSF) to support capital investment to improve energy efficiency at the centre.
Escalating energy prices over recent years have significantly increased the costs of keeping the swimming pool open. It’s anticipated that the 147kW solar system will generate 141,471kWh a year, creating annual savings in excess of £50,000.
GLL focuses on reducing its carbon footprint and utilising renewable energy as much as possible in a bid to decrease energy bills by lowering the centre’s reliance on the national grid. The move aligns with one of the key aims of the funding agreement which is to encourage the leisure sector to transition to a position of environmental and financial sustainability through local strategic plans for leisure and active wellbeing.
Paul Bickle, York Partnership Manager at GLL, said: “The installation of solar panels reinforces our commitment to supporting renewable energy, while allowing us to make vital savings on energy costs. These savings will be reinvested so that we can continue our ongoing programme of improvements to enhance the customer experience, offer the best possible leisure facilities and better serve the community of York. We will continue to work with local stakeholders to seek further funding for solar panels and other decarbonisation processes at Energise and across the York partnership.”
The investment follows a recent collaborated between GLL and the City of York Council as part of its ‘York Green Streets’ initiative with the creation of a new micro-wood at Burnholme Sports Centre. Native trees were planted with the help of local volunteers and school children, a project which was funded by the UK Government to mark the coronation of King Charles III.
York Green Streets aims to increase the tree canopy cover across York from 10.8% to 13% by 2050, with a commitment to plant 4,000 new trees within York’s urban environment by 2028. Introducing more trees in York will help to absorb and store carbon - a key step on the road to zero carbon. It will also help the city to adapt to climate change impacts such as rising temperatures, whilst enhancing biodiversity and protecting endangered species.
Future plans have also been revealed surrounding a joint project with Deep Green Energy. GLL has been granted planning approval to install a data centre at York Stadium and Leisure Centre. In this ground-breaking initiative, heat emitted as a by-product of the data centre’s operations will be directed back into the building to serve the heating needs of the leisure centre.