North Yorkshire leisure centres set for lower bills

By the Beehive Web regional news desk

Nearly 1,000 solar panels have been installed on three leisure facilities in North Yorkshire, with the council saying the work could save more than £2 million in electricity charges over 25 years.

The panels have gone onto roofs at Active North Yorkshire Ripon – The Jack Laugher Centre, Thirsk and Sowerby Leisure and Wellbeing Hub, and Whitby Leisure Centre. The project is intended to reduce running costs at buildings that use large amounts of electricity for pools, gyms, lighting, heating systems and day-to-day public use.

North Yorkshire Council says the combined installations could also cut nearly 2,000 tonnes of carbon emissions over the same 25-year period. Those figures are estimates, so the actual savings will depend on energy prices, weather, site use and how much of the generated power is used on site.

Nearly 1,000 panels across Ripon, Thirsk and Whitby

The biggest installation is at Whitby Leisure Centre, where more than 400 panels have been added. The centre is currently operated by Everyone Active and is due to become part of Active North Yorkshire next year.

Active North Yorkshire Ripon – The Jack Laugher Centre has received 265 panels. A further 149 have been installed at Thirsk and Sowerby Leisure and Wellbeing Hub.

Together, the three sites account for a major share of the leisure buildings included in the regional renewables programme. The work was carried out at council-owned facilities and overseen by contractor BCS Group.

What changes for the leisure centres

• Solar panels are now in place at leisure sites in Ripon, Thirsk and Whitby.
• The council expects lower electricity bills over the long term.
• Savings are expected to support other public services and leisure operations.
• The project forms part of a wider regional target to become carbon negative by 2040.

For residents, the immediate effect is not a change to opening hours or services, but a change in how part of each centre’s electricity demand is met. Leisure centres are expensive public buildings to operate, especially where swimming pools, fitness suites and changing facilities are involved.

Council leader Cllr Carl Les said the panels would help generate energy more cheaply and reduce what the authority pays in bills. He said those savings could then be invested in other areas of need across North Yorkshire.

The 25-year savings estimate behind the project

North Yorkshire Council says the three installations could deliver more than £2 million in electricity savings and nearly 2,000 tonnes of carbon emissions reductions over 25 years.

Those numbers should be read as long-range projections rather than guaranteed annual savings. Solar output can vary by season and weather, while electricity prices may rise or fall over the life of the panels. The financial return also depends on maintenance costs and how efficiently each building uses the power generated during daylight hours.

Even with those caveats, the direction of travel is clear: the council wants more of its public estate to produce energy locally, reducing exposure to high utility bills and cutting emissions from buildings used by residents every week.

Funding came through a regional renewables programme

The work was funded by North Yorkshire Council and Great British Energy’s Mayoral Renewables Fund. The York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority has delivered the wider programme, which supports solar installations on community buildings across the region.

Mayor David Skaith allocated funding for panels on 16 community buildings after a £1 million grant from Great British Energy. He said lower bills would allow community buildings to spend less on energy and more on supporting people.

The programme is tied to York and North Yorkshire’s ambition to become the first region in England to reach carbon negative status by 2040. The leisure centre installations are one part of that wider target, alongside work on public buildings and other local energy projects.

Leisure investment is already planned at key sites

The solar work comes alongside a wider leisure investment strategy approved by the council in November 2025. That programme includes £36 million for four key sites, including Whitby, with funding focused on Active North Yorkshire facilities in Selby and Skipton as well as centres in Pickering and Whitby.

Pickering and Whitby are both currently operated by Everyone Active and are due to become part of Active North Yorkshire in 2027. A further £3 million is also planned for a phased upgrade of gym and fitness equipment across 12 additional leisure sites overseen by the council.

BCS Group operations director Adrian Veitch said the solar installations would reduce the cost of running the centres and support the long-term sustainability of the facilities. He said the work would have “a positive impact for the public” by supporting the running of community leisure centres.

Source: North Yorkshire Council

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Source check Source trail

This article is based on North Yorkshire Council's 2026 announcement and separates stated projections from confirmed installations.

Checks

• Confirmed the three named leisure sites affected: Ripon, Thirsk and Whitby.
• Checked the panel numbers stated for each site against the source text.
• Treated the £2 million and 2,000-tonne figures as 25-year estimates, not guaranteed saving...
• Matched the funding context to the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority and Great B...

North Yorkshire Council Check wider coverage

Source

North Yorkshire Council

Scope

North Yorkshire

Updated

2026-05-28 16:36

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Article contextPeople & topics3#7

Carl LesDavid SkaithAdrian Veitch

#Active North Yorkshire#Council energy savings#Mayoral Renewables Fund#North Yorkshire solar panels#Ripon Jack Laugher Centre#Thirsk and Sowerby Leisure Hub#Whitby Leisure Centre

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