Pool owners and managers could potentially see their businesses shut down, as they are becoming more and more expensive to run.
UKActive, a non-profit organisation interested in the health and activity levels of the nation, promotes the interests of gyms and swimming pools.
It has called for more support to keep these open despite the rising cost of energy.
In order to avoid closure, it is predicted that some pool owners and managers have proposed steps that can be taken to reduce energy usage.
This measures could include reducing temperatures and shortening opening times.
READ MORE: ‘Unusual’ money saving hacks – ‘weird’ ways to be thrifty
They may also propose making staff cutbacks, predicted UKActive chief executive officer Huw Edwards.
Swimming pools are not only an exercise provider but also recreation.
What’s more, swimming pools have only really just made their comeback, having been closed for a large part of the pandemic.
Yesterday, Huw Edwards, chief executive officer of UKActive, spoke to BBC’s Radio 4 about the energy cost crisis and its consequences for swimming pools.
He said: “We’re looking at, between 2021 prices to 2022 prices, up to an 150 percent increase in energy costs.”
DON’T MISS
Things don’t look much better longer term, with Edwards predicting that “in 2023 it could go up to an 185 percent increase”.
He explained that heating swimming pools contributes to a lot of the energy costs.
Moreover, many facilities built in the last 30 years are not “energy efficient”.
When asked if the swimming pools could simply be made colder, Edwards answered that his members would be doing “everything they can” with their customers to reduce swimming pool temperatures.
“But what you’re really doing there is plastering the cracks.”
At the end of 2020, the National Leisure Recovery Fund supported keeping swimming pools open, and reinstating something like this is another possible avenue, stated Edwards.
He is currently in conversation with Government bodies concerning the issue and hopes to bring “really urgent conversations” to the table.
“The Government’s been aware of this for a couple of months but we now need to get into discussions around solutions.”
This will be particularly necessary towards the end of the year when the nation experiences colder weather, with another projection of an autumn increase in energy costs.
if(typeof utag_data.ads.fb_pixel!==”undefined”&&utag_data.ads.fb_pixel==!0){!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);fbq(‘init’,’568781449942811′);fbq(‘track’,’PageView’)}
