A £4.7m Government grant will help Hambleton’s leisure centres reduce carbon emissions.
District council cabinet members have agreed unanimously to recommend to full council that the grant which will be used to reduce the carbon footprint made by the council’s leisure centres be accepted.
This grant will see new heat pumps, solar panels and LED light fittings installed at Northallerton, Stokesley, Bedale and Thirsk leisure centres, as well as installation and infrastructure changes.
It is hoped these changes will result in a 57 per cent reduction in the carbon output for each centre.
In 2020 the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) launched the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme.
The fund encourages green investment, with councils asked to apply for the cash needed to make their buildings as environmentally friendly as possible.
Despite the scheme being significantly oversubscribed Hambleton’s single application for all the necessary works was successful.
Leader of Hambleton District Council, Councillor Mark Robson said: “I’m delighted we’ve been awarded such a significant sum of money to cut our leisure centre’s carbon emissions in half.
“As we know carbon emission is one of the main contributors to climate change, so this work is hugely important.
“The fact we’ve been awarded exactly what we applied for is a huge achievement given the interest shown in the decarbonisations fund.
“Every little helps when it comes to protecting our environment and as a council, we have a clear role to play in this.
“This work clearly demonstrates our commitment to delivering on one of our key priority areas which is around caring for the environment.”
The work will begin in April and is set to be complete in the autumn.
The works needed will cause minimum disruption to the leisure centres which will remain open throughout.
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