Leisure centres set to get solar upgrades

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

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

The authority said work to install s 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 s are huge.

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

"The s should help to keep hip and entry prices as low as possible for s."

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