Northamptonshire swimming pools are in line to benefit from more than half a million pounds to improve facilities

Four swimming pools in Northamptonshire are in line to benefit from more than half a million pounds to improve facilities and make them more energy-efficient.

Split into two phases, the government's Swimming Pool Support Fund (SPSF) provided a total of £80 million to local authorities in England as a support package for public leisure facilities with swimming pools.

In the second phase of SPSF, £60.5 million has been split between 325 pools from more than 260 local authorities.

Daventry Leisure Centre, operated by Everyone Active, is set to receive £246,500 for new pool covers and micro-filtration systems.

Lloyd Barraclough, area contract manager for Everyone Active, said: “Thanks to the funding, we are able to make the swimming pool at Daventry Leisure Centre more energy efficient with a new micro-filtration system and new pool covers. This will help with not only reducing energy costs, but also cutting carbon emissions.

“By future-proofing the facility for years to come, the community can continue making the most of their local swimming pool and reaping the benefits of staying active.”

There are more than 2,000 public leisure centres in England and 800 of them feature pools.

The government established the fund a year ago to support longer-term initiatives to assist in lowering future energy bill costs in addition to helping keep pools running in the face of financial challenges.

Lloyd said: “At Everyone Active, we welcome the government’s new sports strategy to get more adults and young people engaging in physical activity, and we believe the Swimming Pool Support Fund can help towards making this happen.

“We are grateful to West Northamptonshire Council for submitting this bid and will keep our customers updated on when the upgrade work is due to start.”

Rushden's Splash Leisure Pool is set to receive an estimated £250,000.

Sport England has been in charge of managing the government budget. Phase two of SPSF saw Sport England add £20 million of funding from the Lottery, increasing the number of venues that benefited from these facility upgrades.

Corby International Pool and Danes Camp Leisure Centre in Northampton are set to get around £30,000 in funding from the National Lottery.