Shap swimming pool prepares to open with soaring bills

Briony Newsome, acting chairperson, said: "We have just had a new heating system which will keep the water warmer. 

"We are hoping just to absorb the costs and not have to pass it on to the customers."

Shap Swimming Pool has kept its price of entry the same since 2019:

"We are still catching up from COVID when there were not as many people. In 2021 we were on half customers." 

This is in response to UKActive, a group of industry experts, calling for more support to keep leisure centres open. 

Huw Edwards, chief executive officer of UKActive said that a 150% increase in energy costs was expected from 2021 to 2022. 

He said that tackling this by reducing the temperature of pools was being considered. 

But Ms. Newsome said: 

"It's already cold at Shap! We need to keep the water warm and that's why we bought this new heating system."

Shap Outdoor Swimming pool is a volunteer run community swimming pool. It is the highest open air heated swimming pool at 900ft above sea level. The pool is heated to 26 degrees celsius.

The pool will open for some limited Jubilee sessions on 5th June, and then fully open to the public on 11th June. 

Ingleton has another open-air 20 metre heated lido, and like Shap it is a community run swimming pool. 

Ingleton opened for the summer on 29 May. 

Unlike Shap and Ingleton, the swimming pool in Kendal is run by national not-for-profit Better, the trading name of Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL). GLL manage over 258 facilities across the UK. 

According to the Local Government Association (LGA), public leisure facilities were "disproportionately relied on by those on lower incomes."

The LGA said that 72per cent of primary schools relied on swimming pools and the rising energy costs "post a very real and significant issue" for the leisure industry. 

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport said that they provided £1bn "to help leisure sectors through the pandemic."