Funding boost for Hadleigh Pool & Leisure complex

Funding of £115,620 to help offset increased utility costs at Hadleigh Pool & Leisure has been awarded to Babergh District Council.

The bid for Sport England Phase 1 Swimming Pool Grants funding was successful however a first-round bid for funding to help the Kingfisher Leisure Centre, in Sudbury, failed as well as bids by neighbouring Mid Suffolk District Council for Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre and Stradbroke Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre.

The Hadleigh complex is owned by Babergh District Council and operated by not-for-profit social enterprise Abbeycroft Leisure.

Swimming pools are particularly dependent on energy use, maintaining ambient temperature and heating pool water to the right temperature for leisure use, so inflation and soaring energy bills have put leisure providers under increasing financial pressure.

Deborah Saw, Babergh District Council cabinet member for People and Place said: “The health and wellbeing of our communities is a priority for our council and we are working hard, in partnership with providers, to keep facilities open despite severe pressure on our budget. We obviously welcome this funding – and hope for further support in the second round for all our pools and leisure centres facing the same challenge, both here in Babergh and in neighbouring Mid Suffolk.”

Warren Smyth, chief executive of Abbeycroft Leisure, said: “Soaring energy costs, the impact of Covid and cost of living pressures are putting swimming pools across the country under huge pressure. We have received excellent support from Babergh District Council, but this is a much wider issue and we are very pleased to have received this national award.”

A decision on Sport England Phase 2 Swimming Pool Grants funding is expected next month.