Leisure pools review amidst energy bill hikes
The provision of public swimming pools in West Lothian is to be reviewed by the council as it looks to slash energy costs.
The council currently runs 19 swimming pools, which are among the biggest users of energy.
And as it seeks to find ways to cut its costs finance chiefs said they would look at how much each pool was used, what income it generated and what condition it was in before making further recommendations.
It came as the council promised a “holistic”review of energy use across all buildings - and admitted it had already turned down the temperature in the council chamber.
Papers presented to the council’s
Executive acknowledged“swimming pools are a very significant consumer of energy and also incur high maintenance and operating costs.”
The paper added:“West Lothian Council and West Lothian Leisure currently operate swimming pools at nineteen locations across the West Lothian area.”
The report added:“It is proposed that officers carry out a full review of swimming pool provision which will include: Usage data; Income generation; Geographic spread; Curricular use; Condition surveys; Benchmarking data, and; An Integrated Impact Assessment.
“The review will consider all costs associated with pool provision from both a revenue and capital perspective. A number of other Scottish local authorities are also reviewing swimming pool provision in their areas.”
Head of Finance Donald Forrest unveiled details on planned savings and mitigation measures to cut energy bills. Budget savings options totalling £1.265 million have been identified for 2023/24 onwards.
Lib Dem councillor for Linlithgow Sally Pattle asked:“Do we know how much each pool costs to run?”
Mr Forrest told the meeting that costs varied according to age and other factors adding:“Officers will consider options for maximising the use and sustainability of existing property assets in line with the council’s new Asset Management Strategy to assess scope for further energy mitigation savings in 2024/25 to contribute to the targeted saving of £525,000.”
Councillor Pattle said of the council chamber:“It’s always roasting in here.”
Mr Forrest replied:“We have reduced the temperatures across all of our buildings and we are generating a decent saving from that.
“It’s probably safe to say that building users feedback tends to vary around heating. One person who thinks the building is hot and another person sitting nearby can think it’s too cold.”
He told the meeting:“The review will be more holistic across the council estate and we will also work with colleagues in West Lothian Leisure.”
Other measures agreed by the Executive going forward to the budget decision later this month include the development of existing programmes to expand the LED lighting roll-out,increased renewable energy generation through Solar PV and further thermal efficiency measures which include fabric improvements to council buildings and heating systems.