750 solar panels planned for Corby swimming pool roof
A plan to make Corby Swimming Pool more energy efficient will see solar panels installed on the roof and air source heat pumps replace ageing fossil fuel boilers.
The North Northamptonshire Council scheme, along with two sister projects at the Cube and Desborough Leisure Centre, will form a key part of the authority’s progressive climate change ambitions.
The projects are funded by a huge £3.858m grant from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme as well as £601,000 from the council’s own purse.
Now detailed plans of the pool project have been revealed for the first time in planning documents.
They show that 750 photovoltaic panels will be fixed to the roof of the well-known town centre building. There will also be a 390 sq m compound to the woodland side of the swimming pool to house the mechanism for air source heat pumps.
Under Councillor Harriet Pentland (Con, Higham Ferrers), executive member for climate and the green environment, the council has pushed forward its ambitious target to become carbon neutral by 2030.
The latest project will reduce emissions by 690 tonnes of carbon each year, a 3 per cent reduction of the council’s current 20,084 tonne carbon footprint.
The panels will be raised about 20 cm up from the existing roof line and will not come within 1metre of the edge of the roof.
It’s not yet known when work may start on the schemes.
In order to comply with the terms of the grant, the projects will need to be complete by Spring 2026.