Purpose of Report
1. To provide
the Climate and Ecological Emergencies Advisory Committee (CEEAC)
with an update on the direction of performance towards a carbon
neutral council by 2025 in the council’s leisure property
portfolio.
Strategic Objectives
2.
The report provides direction on the
council exercising strong stewardship of all council assets
including property and financial investments, optimising their
performance for the benefit of our residents.
3.
Provides a direction on the council
maximising external funding opportunities to support our services
and to enrich our leisure, sporting and community
activities.
Background
4. The
council declared a Climate and Ecological Emergency following a
motion that was passed at the Council meeting on 11 February 2021.
It builds on the council’s declaration of a Climate Emergency
in 2019, which was followed by a pledge to become a carbon neutral
council by 2025 and a carbon neutral district by 2030.
5. The
Climate Action Plan (CAP) outlines how South Oxfordshire District
Council (SODC) will meet its target of becoming a carbon neutral
council by 2025.
6. To measure
our progress in achieving our carbon neutral target, we divided the
actions in CAP into strategic, direct and enabling actions. This
briefing will be focusing on ‘direct’ impact of
delivery for our leisure property assets. .
Historical Context –
Leisure Properties
7. In the CAP
baseline year (2019/20) our leisure property portfolio contributed
to 46.8 per cent of our carbon emissions. See appendix 1
8. Leisure
centres in 2019/20 were consuming 1.4m kWh of electricity and 5m
kWh of gas over a year. Please note that leisure centres consume
energy 24/7 through plant operations to maintain the facility and
comfort of its users. Especially where swimming pools are evident
in our properties as these need constant heating to maintain
temperatures for bathers. See appendix 2 for annual leisure
consumption data.
9. On 21
March 2020, the Prime Minister announced that leisure centres were
required to temporarily close as part of the wider Covid-19 lock
down measures. The leisure management contractor Greenwich Leisure
Limited (GLL) was required to close all leisure centres in South
Oxfordshire.
10. Leisure centres remained closed
until the government announced their reopening from 26 July 2020.
Due to further national lockdown and Tier 4 restrictions, GLL was
required to close all centres from 5 November 2020 to 2 December
2020, and 26 December 2020 to 22 March 2021.
11. During the reporting year 2020/21
and 2021/22 where leisure centres were faced with immediate closure
and a period of time of controlled opening through social
distancing, there was a significant reduction in the utility
consumption within the leisure property estate. Naturally this was
a reduction for this period of time due to plant machinery being
switched off and less users during the controlled reopening of all
the sites.
12. Consumption during the Covid-19
pandemic year 2020/21 was 448,247 kWh for electricity and 1.67m kWh
for gas which for reporting will show a significant reduction with
comparing year on year due to the unexpected events we were faced
with.
13. Consumption during the year 2021/22
was subject to returning to normality after restrictions were
starting to ease in the start of the financial year and customer
visits returning. During the year consumption was 1.24m kWh for
electricity and 5m kWh for gas.
14. Appendix 3 shows historic data since
2019/20 where utility consumption levels have improved. 2020/21 and
2021/22 have various reason explained already why in some cases
these reporting years are lower than others.
15. Appendix 4 shows a direct assessment
of 2019/20 to 2022/23 in comparison to a full reporting year. With
user numbers returning back to pre-Covid-19 levels the table shows
that emissions have significantly reduced. Various projects and
operational control measures administered since the pandemic have
seen 1.34m kWh in both electricity and gas being reduced across all
leisure centres.
16. Throughout Covid-19 the council
entered into a support package and change to the leisure contract
by means of a dee of variation. This saw some facilities close
earlier specifically over the weekend due to lack of use or limited
number of users. The change of operations will have reduced energy
use; however, this will have been a relatively low reduction mainly
impacting lighting being on or off. The heating and ventilation
would have remained in use to ensure the swimming pools remained
heated and the building conditions protected for operation.
17. Natural gas consumption within
leisure centres can fluctuate dependant on the weather outside and
the impact this has on the leisure buildings themselves. This will
have had an effect on our energy use when good weather was
experienced in 2022/23.
Project Milestones
Achieved
18. Officers have completed a number of
smaller projects throughout 2021-2023 which mainly considered the
upgrading of lighting in all leisure centres to LED. This was to
ensure all our leisure facility stock removed all fluorescent and
halogen lighting across the estate. The current data we have with
the LED installations and upgrading works has saved 137,356 kWh per
year and can be found in Appendix 6.
19. The leisure team have used a
combination of capital expenditure where projects are a smaller
cost, to utilising s106 and Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)
funding for larger project work. This has enabled the leisure team
to ensure that additional capital has not been used from our
reserves and maximised the use of developer’s funds to
improve the carbon levels at all leisure sites.
20. Negotiations and forecasted projects
have also been agreed by ensuring Oxfordshire County Council (OCC)
have contributed to the upgrading of lighting throughout the
leisure centres and further decarbonisation work under the Joint
Use Agreements (JUA) continue. In many cases, the leisure property
estate is under JUA leases with OCC for both educational and
leisure provision. There are specific commitments and proportionate
percentage shares that OCC have as part of their operational
responsibility to the emissions of the leisure centres.
21. It is worth noting that the leisure
centre project where OCC have contributed to the overall costs, OCC
will have a share of the carbon emissions savings through the JUA.
The council will not claim the full carbon savings for these
projects in our greenhouse gas emissions reporting. A proportionate
share will go to OCC in line with the percentages under the
JUA.
22. Whilst Appendix 5 shows a number of
LED projects completed Officers have also conducted a number of
operational assessments using experts in the field of leisure
centre operation. A key project was to conduct a flow testing
survey on the swimming pool treatment systems at all swimming pool
properties to establish the flow rates achieved at varying motor
frequencies.
Key aims of the
survey was to:
·
Provide information on whether the existing flow rate is suitable
to achieve the guidance set out in Pool Water Treatment Advisory
(PWTAG) Swimming Pool Water: treatment and quality standards for
pools and spas.
·
Establish whether there is scope to lower the existing circulation
pump speed to achieve a reduction in energy consumption whilst
remaining compliant with PWATG’s Swimming Pool Water:
treatment and quality standards for pools and spas.
From the
engineer’s report findings, it was found that the circulation
pumps turning over the swimming pool water could be significantly
reduced at three leisure facilities (Didcot Wave Leisure Centre,
Riverside and Thame Leisure Centre) both during use and outside of
operational hours. The annual reduction in consumption was 325,227
kWh per year through managing a close control on the plant
operations.
Future Project Delivery
23. 
Officers are continually researching options to drive down the
carbon emissions across the leisure estate outside of larger
project delivery. Currently in the project plan is the installation
of destratification fans at Didcot Wave Leisure Centre. Officers
are using a case study on a recently successful trial
of destratification units that were installed at the White
Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre, in the Vale of White Horse. A
description of ‘Destratification’ is included in the
box below:
The recent case
study data with the newly installed system at the White Horse
Leisure & Tennis Centre has shown over the last three months
the system has been able to reduce consumption by 108,762 kWh.
Showing a pay back on the investment over four to five months from
installation. The first three months of installation data can be
seen in Appendix 6.
24. Recently Officers have worked
closely with the Climate Action Team and the External Funding Lead
in the submission of an application to draw down Government grant
funding in the decarbonisation of two leisure properties (Didcot
Wave Leisure Centre and Park Sports Centre) through the Salix
Finance Phase 3c Scheme.
Salix Finance is
managing applications to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme
Phase 3c (PSDS3c) on behalf of the Government. PSDS3c aims to
tackle emissions from heating public sector buildings, aid a green
recovery and support the UK’s 2050 net zero target and clean
growth goals.
PSDS3c allows
public sector bodies to apply for a grant to finance up to 88% of
the costs of capital or at a maximum cost of £325/tCO2e
(£325 per tonne of direct carbon saved), for energy-saving
projects that meet the scheme criteria. The essential capital
projects to decarbonise the above leisure facilities met these
criteria.
Applications for
Didcot Wave Leisure Centre and Park Sports Centre were submitted on
Tuesday 7 November 2023 in the hope that the council will be
successful in its bid to decarbonise both leisure facilities in the
near future.
The grant
application is for £1,380,887 worth of Salix PSDS3c funding
and a council contribution of £1,692,158.
Overall, if our
application is successful the annual energy consumption will be
reduced from 1.45m kWh to 41,466 kWh at Didcot Wave Leisure Centre
and from 305,196 kWh to 1,675 kWh at Park Sports Centre giving an
overall annual saving of 1.71m kWh.
The announcement
of this PSDS3c grant is expected very soon after the submission
given the application is based on a first come first serve basis.
If successful, this project will take over two years to complete
with the works being completed by 31 March 2026.
25. Recently the government's Swimming
Pool Support Fund (SPSF) was launched, providing a total of
£60 million to local authorities in England as a support
package for public leisure facilities with swimming pools, the
funding is split into two phases.
·
Phase I - Revenue: £20m is available to support facilities
with swimming pools with increased cost pressures, leaving them
most vulnerable to closure or significant service reduction.
·
Phase II - Capital: £40m is available from the government for
capital investment to improve the energy efficiency of public
facilities with pools in the medium to long term.
Officers have
worked closely with the Climate Action Team and the External
Funding Lead in the submission of an application to draw down
Government grant.
Phase I saw the
successful application SPSF of £285,465 in South to support
GLL with the increased cost pressures.
Phase II
application was submitted on Tuesday 10 October for energy
reduction measures at Abbey Sports Centre, Berinsfield for
£157,527 and Thame Leisure Centre for £160,351. The main
focus of this funding is for the installation of Solar PV to reduce
utility costs and carbon emissions. The announcement of the grant
is expected in January 2024, and for the projects to be completed
by 31 March 2025.
Financial Implications
26. This report is for information only
and therefore there are no financial implications as part of the
update.
Legal Implications
27. There are no legal implications
arising from the recommendation in the report which is for
information only.
Climate and ecological impact implications
28. The Climate Action Team have been
fully engaged with during each stage of the report and supportive
of the projects completed. This report is for information only by
way of any update of the work currently completed in our trajectory
towards net zero.
29. This report is for information only
and there are no equalities implications.
Risks
30. This report is for information only,
and therefore no highlighted risk has been made as part of the
information supplied.
Conclusion
31. Evidently it can be seen the leisure
facilities property teams focus on CAP and the council’s own
emissions to ensure our operations and service provision are
driving down emissions.
32. The forecast of future reductions in
CO2 emissions in this report are based on the best estimates
provided by specialist consultants. These are by necessity subject
to environmental impacts beyond the Council’s control. For
example, on the demand side ambient temperature fluctuations will
affect the amount of heating required in our leisure centres and on
the supply side solar PV electricity generation is largely a
function of the number of sunshine hours throughout the year.
Officers will continue to monitor actual outcomes against
forecasts. Where deemed appropriate officers will consider what
other additional technologies could be employed to create
reductions in our carbon emissions.
33. If the council is successful with
both Salix PSDS3c and SPSF Phase II the overall impact of these
projects could potentially reduce consumption by a further 1.93m
kWh annually.
34. Overall annual consumption will have
reduced to 3.20m kWh per year from 6.47m kWh seen in 2019/20.
35. Whilst it is appreciated leisure
properties would struggle to be carbon neutral by 2025 over 50
percent reduction of kWh consumption will have been achieved by 31
March 2026 through the delivery of larger projects if the council
is successful with its grant submissions.
36. Officers will continue to focus on
new technology to support the ongoing reduction of consumption
across the leisure property estate. Both the focus on small and
large projects creating reductions in our carbon emissions.
37. Revisiting Concept Energy
heating’s options reports and decarbonisation site assessment
reports over 2023 with the leisure management contractor GLL to
improve routine energy management good practice.
38. There will be a focus on the new
leisure contract for September 2026 and work with the Climate
Action Team to ensure that the specification have a direct focus on
reducing carbon. This will be through ensuring Key Performance
Target expectations are made at the point of tender, and
contractors providing method statements during the tender stages to
show how this would be achieved through their quality
submission.
39. Continue to support and work with
the External Funding Lead to ensure that the process of preparation
with any future grant funding opportunities is robust to stand the
best chance of success.
Background Papers
40. There are no background papers as
part of this information update.
Appendix
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
|
|
|
2018/19
|
2019/20
|
2020/21
|
2021/22
|
2022/23
|
|
|
|
Total
|
Total
|
Total
|
Total
|
Total
|
|
Abbey Sports Centre
|
Natural gas
|
376,333
|
417,462
|
10,846
|
328,707
|
400,372
|
|
Abbey Sports Centre
|
Electricity (grid)
|
166,855
|
153,077
|
13,018
|
93,784
|
112,972
|
|
Didcot Leisure Centre
|
Natural gas
|
73,053
|
73,993
|
3,437
|
27,891
|
42,027
|
|
Didcot Leisure Centre
|
Electricity (grid)
|
85,799
|
76,844
|
18,985
|
31,434
|
42,429
|
|
Didcot Wave
|
Natural gas
|
1,346,568
|
1,347,726
|
631,216
|
1,370,315
|
1,145,115
|
|
Didcot Wave
|
Electricity (grid)
|
374,173
|
330,664
|
151,722
|
308,639
|
280,075
|
|
Henley Leisure Centre
|
Natural gas
|
995,786
|
977,732
|
496,276
|
1,273,606
|
1,014,582
|
|
Henley Leisure Centre
|
Electricity (grid)
|
431,687
|
406,893
|
90,711
|
272,932
|
280,480
|
|
Park Sports Centre
|
Natural gas
|
173,688
|
199,789
|
24,359
|
288,649
|
223,731
|
|
Park Sports Centre
|
Electricity (grid)
|
130,923
|
127,734
|
33,342
|
92,651
|
80,733
|
|
Riverside Pool
|
Natural gas
|
101,249
|
145,951
|
0
|
169,857
|
98,436
|
|
Riverside Pool
|
Electricity (grid)
|
42,981
|
43,284
|
3,474
|
40,159
|
35,238
|
|
Thame Leisure Centre
|
Natural gas
|
1,404,300
|
1,825,763
|
509,675
|
1,494,711
|
881,764
|
|
Thame Leisure Centre
|
Electricity (grid)
|
500,807
|
343,097
|
136,995
|
399,679
|
494,134
|
|
|
Natural gas
|
4,470,977
|
4,988,416
|
1,675,809
|
4,953,736
|
3,806,027
|
|
|
Electricity (grid)
|
1,733,225
|
1,481,593
|
448,247
|
1,239,278
|
1,326,061
|
