Around £250,000 of government funding has been secured for public swimming pools in Carlisle, Wigton and Workington.
Cumberland Council successfully bid for the money as part of the Swimming Pool Support Fund phase two after securing £350,000 last year as part of the phase one application process.
It has recently been announced that £254,227 capital support was granted by government.
Sport England is managing the fund on behalf of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
The fund aims to reduce the energy consumption level of facilities in receipt of the funding, compared to baseline, and support the leisure sector to transition to a position of environmental and financial sustainability.
Cumberland Council secured the following funding. The funding will be used to install Photo Voltaic (PV) panels (Workington and The Sands Centre), pool wall insulation (Wigton) and pool covers (Workington and Wigton).
- The Sands Centre, Carlisle
Operated by GLL on behalf of Cumberland Council
Funding received: £72,750
- Workington Leisure Centre
Operated by GLL on behalf of Cumberland Council
Funding received: £134,127
- Wigton Baths
Operated by Wigton Baths Trust
Funding received: £47,350
Councillor Anne Quilter, Cumberland Council’s Executive Member for Vibrant and Healthy Places, said:
“Our officers responded quickly to the bid for funding, and I am delighted that they have secured an additional £250,000 for pool provision in Cumberland.
“The funding was only available for existing swimming pools and will be used to install environmental measures in the three pools’ sites.
"Successful pools had to meet the government's criteria and compete against other applications across England."
Over 500 capital interventions in over 300 facilities with swimming pools have been awarded funding from the Government and Sport England’s £60m capital investment programme.
The interventions include photo-voltaic cells, LED lights and pool covers as well as variety of other capital improvements aimed at improving the energy efficiency of public facilities with pools in the medium to long term.
264 local authorities have received a share of the funding, of which £20m has been provided by Sport England via the National Lottery and just over £40m has been provided by the Government as part of their commitment to support the long-term sustainability of public leisure.