Health and fitness centres across the country are at risk, according to a new survey from ukactive. The report shows that energy costs for some swimming pool and leisure centre operators have increased by more than 200%, with some at risk of reducing services or closing sites altogether.
The report shows that 75% of public and private operators are extremely likely to increase their customer pricing in the next six months. More than 80% have already raised their prices to cope with continued increases offering no sustainability to businesses or consumers.
To tackle the rising costs, Sport England has distributed £20.3 million of Government money to keep swimming pools open. More than 100 local authorities have received funding from the Swimming Pool Support Fund. The Spring Budget announcement saw £60.3 million in total being released, split into two phases. £40 million has been earmarked for improving energy efficiency for public pools in the medium to long term.
ukactive has released three areas they recommend for Government investment, including accelerating the delivery of Phase 2 of the Swimming Pool Fund to bring energy efficiency to public pools.
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