Swimming pool in Rye closing due to rising energy costs

Freedom Leisure, which runs dozens of leisure centres in Sussex, said its annual energy bill has increased from £8 million to £20 million despite the government’s energy cap.

The not-for-profit charitable leisure trust said it makes low profits which means the sudden bill increase presents it with a “significant challenge”.

Freedom Leisure has already asked Brighton and Hove City Council for financial support in running seven of its leisure centres in the city.

Freedom Leisure will review the decision in Spring (Image: Freedom Leisure)

But today it announced it would have to close one of its leisure centre swimming pools.

Ivan Horsfall-Turner, chief executive, said: “We are very disappointed that this escalating situation has come to this.

“It goes against our ethos and our vision of improving lives through leisure but we feel that through circumstances out of our control we are having to make decisions such as the closure of the pool to protect the provision of the wider leisure service for the community for the future.”

Freedom Leisure will be closing the swimming pool in Rye for the winter from tomorrow.

It said it will review this in early spring next year when it is in a “better position to assess future government support and any fluctuations in the utility price market”.

Rye Swimming Pool (Image: Google)

Freedom Leisure said it was aware how “devastating” this decision will be for people who rely on it for their health and wellbeing.

It said: “If we felt there was any other action we could take to not close the pool we would, however, the increased costs of maintaining the swimming pool at Rye amounts to £92,000 a year which we cannot just absorb.”

Freedom Leisure has also changed some of its opening and closing times at leisure centres in an effort to cut costs.