Four north Oxfordshire leisure centres and sports pavilions are set for a fresh round of eco-friendly enhancements, thanks to a £1.1m grant.
Published: Monday, 16th June 2025
Cherwell District Council has secured the funding through the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS). It will pay for decarbonisation upgrades at Spiceball and Woodgreen leisure centres, and at Stratfield Brake and North Oxfordshire Academy sports pavilions.
The funded works are projected to deliver annual carbon savings of 234 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent – the equivalent of driving a car for 821,678 miles. Works will include replacing fossil fuel-based heating systems with low-carbon alternatives, such as air-source heat pumps and implementing other efficiency upgrades, including insulation.
Councillor Tom Beckett, Portfolio Holder for Greener Communities, said: “This council is committed to addressing climate change head-on. Since we declared a climate emergency in 2019, we’ve taken big strides towards our goal of reaching net zero by 2030, and I am delighted that we are taking this proactive approach to winning government grants.
“While we’ve invested before in decarbonisation measures at our leisure centres, there’s still more to be done to reach our carbon net zero ambitions. This largely grant-funded latest round of investment will substantially reduce our energy use and carbon footprint. This will allow residents’ trips to the gym or swimming pool to feel both good for personal health and planetary health.”
The latest round of grant funding builds on a previous PSDS award, received in 2021, which saw a range of carbon-cutting improvements made to council leisure centres.
To support delivery, the council will provide match funding of £560,911 from existing capital budgets. The majority of the works are expected to be completed by March 2026, in support of the council’s goal of achieving carbon net zero by 2030.