Work to make two Cotswold leisure centres more sustainable has been completed.

The £1.2 million upgrades at the Bourton and Cirencester Everyone Active centres are part of the Cotswold District Council’s efforts to cut carbon emissions and tackle the climate emergency.

Councillor Rachel Coxcoon, cabinet member for climate change and forward planning, said: “We have pledged to make Council-owned buildings and assets more sustainable and it is so important that we deliver this.

“Our leisure centres account for 30 per cent of all emissions produced by the Council.

“These decarbonisation works will ensure we are getting the best energy efficiency and maximum cost savings and are a significant step towards Cotswold District Council’s goal of corporately becoming carbon neutral by 2030 and our vision for a carbon neutral district by 2045.”

Funding for the upgrades came by way of a public sector decarbonisation grant awarded to the council by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy after a successful bid last year.

Both of the leisure centres have had their gas boilers replaced with new low-carbon air source heat pumps which will heat the building, the hot water supply and the swimming pools.

The ventilation systems have also been upgraded, replaced with more efficient components including “the latest ‘smart’ technology”.

Furthermore, the roofs of each centre have been fitted with solar photovoltaic panels which is hoped will “dramatically” reduce the amount of electricity being drawn from the grid.

Councillor Jenny Forde, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, added: “These changes put the district’s leisure centres on a strong footing for the future with cost-savings anticipated in the region of £20k per year in reduced energy bills.

“We also hope the changes we are making will inspire others to reassess their own energy efficiency and see how they can cut their own greenhouse gas emissions and potentially save them money in the long run.”

Since the improvements were made, the leisure centres’ use of gas is now almost zero.

Jamie Nesbit, contract manager at Everyone Active, said: “We’re delighted Cirencester and Bourton-on-the-Water were selected to benefit from Cotswold District Council’s decarbonisation plans and that the upgrades have now been completed.

“It’s important for us to play a key role in supporting plans to reduce energy consumption and feeds into our recently launched Net Zero Strategy, to become a cleaner, greener business for everyone.

“We want to thank our members and customers for their patience whilst the works were being carried out.”

The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grant has also enabled a similar installation of air source heat pumps at the Corinium Museum archive facility near Northleach and funded new low-energy LED lighting at the Council’s Moreton Area Centre.