Solar panels are to be installed on the roof of a town leisure centre.

Malvern Hills District Council’s executive committee will be asked next week to approve a spend of £395,000 to re-roof and fit solar panels at Malvern Splash.

The council will be putting up £220,000 of its money for the project, which aims to provide a 40 percent reduction in electricity usage at the leisure centre.

The rest of the money is coming from the Government’s Swimming Pool Support Fund.

According to a report going before councillors, the scheme will deliver savings of £49,389 a year, giving a return on investment in just over three-and-a-half years.

“In order to implement this project it will be necessary to re-roof Malvern Splash as the roof is approximately 35 years old and approaching end of life,” the report says.

“It is also proposed to over-roof the existing roof, installing an additional layer of insulation between.

“This insulation layer will also contribute towards the energy efficiency of Splash.”

The report says the district council has been working with Freedom Leisure, which manages Malvern Splash, to reduce energy costs at the leisure centre, and that savings of around £15,000 have been made so far.

In January last year, councillors agreed to spend a total of £420,000 to replace the windows facing Priory Park at Malvern Splash - those on the Priory Road of the building had already been done.

The Swimming Pool Support Fund, which was announced by the chancellor in the 2023 Spring Budget, offered a total of £60m to public swimming pool providers around the country.

Its aims were to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption, reduce the carbon output of leisure centres, help alleviate cost pressures, minimise the closure of swimming pool provision and to prioritise support in the areas of greatest socio-economic need.

Wychavon District Council is set to spend £400,000 on new low carbon heat and power systems at Evesham and Pershore leisure centres in a bid to reduce carbon emissions.