Two leisure centres in Wrexham aim to increase participation by residents and reduce energy consumption thanks to a partnership between Wrexham County Borough Council, Freedom Leisure, Clarkson Alliance and Leisure Energy.
The refurbishment project at Waterworld and Chirk Leisure Centres plan to provide a greater diversity of activities to draw in a wider demographic, reduce inactivity and improve the wellbeing of residents.
One of the desired outcomes of the project is to reduce energy consumption. The long hours and specific energy needs of a leisure centre mean that utilities are the second largest overhead. Apart from the obvious environmental impact, savings created from reduced usage can be reinvested back into the centres, which is an attractive prospect for Local Authorities with limited budgets.
The new alterations will reduce energy by 400 tonnes p.a. which is equivalent to the energy needed to power 150 new 3 bedroom houses each year.
The projects are the fourth and fifth Freedom Leisure has partnered with Clarkson Alliance for in Wales. The leisure operator also took over the leisure centres in the Powys area last year which are also being upgraded.
In our capacity as design, project and cost managers Clarkson Alliance has been working closely with Freedom Leisure and Wrexham County Borough Council to define their outcomes and design a scheme to fulfil them. The project at Chirk is on schedule to complete in July 2017 and Waterworld Wrexham will also be completed during autumn 2017. Clarkson Alliance is also providing Principal Designer services.
“As we continue our expansion into Wales, we’re working on providing residents with wider and improved leisure options that also consider the environment. We’ve been working with Clarkson Alliance for a number of years and we feel like they really understand what we’re looking to get out of a project. They look for partners, like Leisure Energy, that reliably help us get the results we want. We’re proud to be making a significant contribution to reducing the carbon footprint of Wrexham.”- Ivan Horsfall-Turner, Managing Director