Government warned soaring energy bills could force hundreds of swimming pools to close

It comes as several swimming pools and leisure centres in West Yorkshire announced closures for the winter months due to energy costs.

Downing Street is planning to drop leisure centres from its Energy Bills Discount Scheme in April, after deciding they should not be designated as ‘energy intensive’.

But Community Leisure UK (CLUK), which represents charitable trusts that run 880 pools across the country, said they are already struggling to pay their bills and up to half will be forced to close if the Government support is withdrawn.

Phil Rumbelow, Chair of CLUK, said hundreds of communities would be “robbed of a pool” – meaning they would lose out on swimming lessons as well as opportunities to improve their health – and thousands of jobs would be at risk.

“Allowing that to happen would be a national disgrace,” he said. “Given that our members provide community services at affordable prices, it’s the most vulnerable, those already hit hardest by the cost of living crisis and the ongoing impact of Covid-19, who will suffer the greatest.”

Chris Porter, Manager of Tadcaster Swimming Pool Trust, said the strain on operators “will become incredible” unless the Government continues to provide support.

“At Tadcaster alone, our electricity costs have gone up by £7,500 per month. That’s just for one site.

“Our gas is still on a fixed rate, but that ends in October and we’re facing a 170 per cent increase in that, and that’s using a specialist broker to find the best deal. We’re looking at a 200 per cent rise in utility costs.

“We’re far from alone in facing these problems. Across the board, leisure trusts need help in dealing with them.

"Without Government support communities will suffer. Peoples’ health and wellbeing will suffer. Once swimming pools close, it’s incredibly difficult to ever reopen them.”

Peter Bundey, Chief Executive of Greenwich Leisure Limited, which operates leisure centres across York, said the future of public swimming pools are “under threat”.

“For generations we’ve taken for granted that we all have easy access to a local pool, where we can learn to swim, exercise and socialise; unfortunately, that may not be the case for much longer,” he said.

"With fewer opportunities to swim, health equalities will grow and the most disadvantaged in society will be disproportionately affected.”

It comes after UK Active revealed some operators have already seen their bills rise by up to 300 per cent since 2019.

The trade body said more than 300 leisure centres and pools have been forced to close, temporarily or permanently, over the last year, or made significant changes, such as lowering pool temperatures.

The Government said it has already provided an £18bn support package to help organisations, such leisure centres and pools, cope with rising energy costs through the winter and those facilities were handed another £1bn of support during the pandemic.