Maidstone Leisure Centre receives £500k in funding to improve facilities

A leisure centre in Kent has received more than half a million pounds to improve its facilities. Sport England has awarded Maidstone Leisure Centre funding to help make the building more efficient while reducing energy costs.

The Maidstone Borough Council-owned leisure centre has received £516,000 to install heat recovery systems and replace boilers. This comes as more than 300 facilities with swimming pools across the UK have been awarded funding from the Government and Sport England's £60m Capital investment programme.

A total of 264 local authorities have received a share of the funding, of which £20m has been provided by Sport England via the National Lottery and just over £40m has been provided by the Government as part of their commitment to support the long-term sustainability of public leisure.

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Mike Evans, the council's leisure facility manager, said: “The funding from Sport England is fantastic news for Maidstone Leisure Centre and for all the people who use it and will help make the building more efficient and reduce energy costs. The council’s further investment into the leisure centre this year will improve the customer experience ensuring that it continues to be a place where people can enjoy active lifestyles.”

Clive Bradburn, chair of Maidstone Leisure Trust said: “This is excellent news for Maidstone Leisure Centre and our customers. This generous Sport England funding will help us on our journey towards a more environmentally friendly, sustainable future for this much-loved community-focused facility.”

Lisa Dodd-Mayne, Sport England's executive director added: “Swimming pools and leisure centres are vital community resources and are enormously important in helping people to be physically active. Sport England is proud of the role we’ve played in supporting these facilities through this difficult period. We hope this funding announcement will enable more public pools to improve their energy efficiency to be more environmentally and financially sustainable, so they remain available for future generations to enjoy.”

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