West Devon leisure centres to get solar panels

Council will loan firm £300k

Both leisure centres in West Devon are to be fitted with solar panels after councillors agreed a loan of hundreds of thousands of pounds.  

Fusion Lifestyle is employed to run both leisure centres across the South Hams: Meadowlands in Tavistock and Parkland in Okehampton.  

The company needed to work closely with West Devon Borough Council, especially through the pandemic when its income was hit by a huge drop in footfall.  

At the council’s AGM on Tuesday, councillors agreed a loan of up to £300,000 over the remaining term of the leisure contract to ensure solar panels can be fitted at both leisure centres.

Like many local authorities, West Devon has declared a climate emergency but also noted how the pandemic considerably reduced CO2 output by staff, as they stayed at home rather than travel into work. 

As well as cutting carbon emissions, the council has also committed to increasing biodiversity and wildlife with a number of rewilding projects.  

Last September, councillors backed proposals to tackle climate change but stopped short of supporting the Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill (now the Climate & Ecology Bill) aimed at halting and reversing UK biodiversity loss by 2030 and cutting UK emissions to help stay below an average increase of 1.5C of global temperatures.  

Also at the meeting, Cllr Caroline Mott (Cons, Bridestowe) was voted in as mayor for a second year.

Cllr Terry Pearce (Ind, Mary Tavy) remains deputy mayor for a second term.

Cllr Mott is inviting suggestions from the public as to which mayor’s charity she should support for her next year in office.

Residents can submit their ideas until Thursday 30 June.