Leisure centres set to get solar panel upgrades

A Devon council is planning to install solar panels on three of its leisure centres to help make them more financially sustainable.

South Hams District Council said it would install the panels at facilities in Ivybridge, Dartmouth and Totnes.

The authority said work to install panels on a fourth leisure centre, Quayside Leisure Centre in Kingsbridge, had already started.

The environment was a "key priority" and the leisure centres were one of the biggest contributors to the council's carbon footprint, it said.

The upgrade would reduce energy bills, helping to make each of the centres more financially sustainable, the council said.

It estimated the project would cut about 90 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.

Julian Brazil, lead member for community services, operations and leisure at the council, said: "The environmental benefits from installing the panels are huge.

"The installation of the panels will also lower the effects of rising costs for all three centres, which are a threat to many facilities like ours.

"The panels should help to keep membership and entry prices as low as possible for users."

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