2:00pm Saturday 20th March 2010
By Laura Kitching
THE boss of a Portland leisure centre has hailed a £29,000 energy-saving pool cover as ‘a benefit to the community’.
Nigel Williams, general manager of Osprey Leisure Centre in Castletown, welcomed the investment that could save the centre up to £15,000 per year in heating bills.
He said the ‘substantial savings’ could now be spent on activities for local people The £29,000 pool cover was funded by the South West Regional Development Agency (RDA) as part of up to £500,000 it pledged to improve recreational and community facilities in the area, following the release of RDA-owned land at Osprey Quay for a new low carbon housing development.
Mr Williams said: “It’s what the people of Portland wanted when we were talking about South West RDA funding.
“It means a substantial saving in utility bills and the community will benefit because we can invest more money into leisure centre activities rather than paying out unnecessarily for utility bills.
“With huge rises in energy costs we have been using our reserves.
“This investment in the pool cover will allow us to allocate the substantial savings towards new community initiatives and explore other potential energy saving schemes.”
Other RDA investment plans include £200,000 earmarked for a new skate-park next to Victoria Gardens, new seating and play facilities at Victoria Gardens and upgrades to Officer’s Field, which will be retained as a permanent sports field and open space.
James Watt, the South West RDA’s development manager with responsibility for Osprey Quay, said: “We have committed up to £500,000 from the low carbon housing development at Officer’s Field to projects that will benefit the local community and the environment.
“The new cover will considerably reduce the amount of energy used to heat the pool, cutting its carbon footprint and saving money for the leisure centre to reinvest elsewhere.”
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