Jeremy Hunt to offer £63m budget lifeline to England’s swimming pools
The Guardian says England’s struggling swimming pools are to be offered a lifeline in the budget with the creation of a £63m fund to ease cost pressures.
On Wednesday, the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, will outline that the new money will be made available for one year and managed by Sport England.
It will allow local authorities to apply for funding for leisure centres with pools that face immediate cost pressures including operational and maintenance expenses and energy bills.
The move comes shortly after the Guardian revealed England had lost almost 400 swimming pools since 2010, and as figures show that the Covid pandemic and soaring energy costs accelerated a decade of decline in aquatic facilities.