Mid Devon's leisure centres going greener

Third of a million pounds for improvements

Leisure centres across Mid Devon are to become more eco-friendly after the district council received government grants to decarbonise their heating and lighting.

The authority has been awarded £348,821 from Salix, a public body which is handing out government-funded grants to improve the energy efficiency of public sector buildings.

The money will enable the introduction of an air source heat pump at Lords Meadow in Crediton to reduce the heating load on existing gas boilers, along with upgraded lighting. The works at Exe Valley in Tiverton and the Culm Valley Sports Centre in Cullompton are to install internal and external LED lighting.

A report presented to the ruling cabinet on Tuesday said the upgrades will mean CO2 emissions will be cut by up to 520 tonnes and help assist the council in its aim to become net-zero in carbon emissions by 2030. [One tonne of carbon is eqivalent to about 500 CO2 fire extinguishers.]

It also claimed the upgrades would lower electricity charges by around £40,000 per year and reduce the amount needed to be spent on maintenance.

Councillor Colin Slade (Conservative, Lowman ward), cabinet member for the environment and climate change, said it was “really a good news story.

Mr Slade, who is also a presenter on Radio Exe, said: “It’s not often we get quite a lot of money to spend courtesy of somebody else – that somebody else being a government department.

“I’m delighted with the prospect of all this great work going forward. It will be a huge benefit to our climate change declaration and the work we are carrying out at the moment.”

Councillors unanimously approved the upgrades, which need to be completed by 30 September under conditions imposed by Salix.

BUDGET REPORT 2020/21

The cabinet also heard how the council reported an overspend of £65,000 on its budget for 2020/21.

Presenting the financial outturn report, Councillor Andrew Moore (Conservative, Clare & Shuttern), cabinet member for finance, said: “The year presented huge challenges as a consequence of covid-19, so an overall overspend of £65,000 against the budget is actually a pretty remarkable outcome.”

Leader of the council, Councillor Bob Deed (Independent, Cadbury), thanked his team and said it was a “great achievement” considering the authority was last year projecting a deficit of £3 million.

Cllr Deed added: “We will not sit on our laurels. We will have a similar task for the coming year.”

The overspend will be taken from the general fund reserve, which now sits at just under £2.2 million.