Leisure centre saves £35k a year in fight against climate change
Solar panels at Stafford Leisure Centre are just one of the actions being taken to tackle climate change in the borough13:00, 12 Jul 2026Work is continuing at twoStaffordshirecouncils to tackle climate change. . .
Solar panels at Stafford Leisure Centre are just one of the actions being taken to tackle climate change in the borough13:00, 12 Jul 2026Work is continuing at twoStaffordshirecouncils to tackle climate change - and residents and businesses are also being encouraged to play their part. StaffordLeisure Centre has cut its energy costs by around £35,000 a year after reducing its electricity use, as well as saving nearly four million litres of water annually through eco-shower installation, senior borough councillors have heard. Local businesses have been supported through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to boost their energy efficiency, which is also helping them deal with increasing costs. And an energy advice service helped 266 households across Stafford Borough save on average £625 on their energy bills. The results of the 2025/26 Climate Action Plan were presented to the borough council's cabinet at its latest meeting. And committees at Stafford Borough Council andCannock Chase District Council received presentations on other measures to tackle climate change, from installing solar panels on leisure centres to work with schools, communities and businesses to improve sustainability. Martyne Manning, principle climate change officer, said: "Climate change and sustainability cuts across all service areas. And in our corporate plans it clearly says climate change should be considered in whatever we do, whether that's procurement or regeneration work. "Corporate assets is what can we do about making ourselves and the buildings we own as a local authority more sustainable. We're doing the best that we can to reduce our own emissions, but also improving things for the future. "We wanted to look at transport as well, so what can we do about our fleets. Can we have more electric vehicles in place, are we making the most of our fleet operations to make sure we're not wasting journeys and fuel so that becomes a lot more sustainable. "Recently we have done a lot of work with Support Staffordshire, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust and lots of schools about engaging our communities, providing them with advice and support. In sustainability education we're doing a lot of work with colleges, we're starting at grass routes level with the Bee Friendly Programme and the Eco Schools programme is running at the moment. "Businesses at the moment we know are suffering with high National Insurance, increase in minimum wage and high energy costs. A big part of the strategy is to make sure we're working with those businesses to make sure they remain sustainable. "In Stafford Borough, the Streetscene headquarters at Riverway now includes an onsite solar farm, while an anti-idling campaign has cut carbon dioxide emissions from engines by almost 50%. Electric vehicles are being purchased as part of fleet renewal. Buying in plants rather than growing them in-house has cut gas and water usage as well as costs. And the team has increased the use of more pollinator-friendly plants. Action in Cannock Chase has included providing access to funding support for businesses and tree giveaways for residents. The Great Imagining - a free event for schools, businesses and residents - shared ideas and information on topics including nature recovery, carbon literacy, solar technology and composting. Other work includes organisations such as Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group (NSCG). Ms Manning said: "West Midlands at the moment is a hotspot for green skills, so we're talking to the college about the courses they're putting on to enable our businesses to hire people to deliver green skills. "That's sustainable procurement, technology, waste management or governance about reporting on what businesses can and can't do legally. A big piece of work we're doing at the moment with the college is making sure that education for people in this area fits the skills of the future and we're not training people up for jobs that don't exist, but we have a good pipeline of skilled apprentices. "I was in a meeting with Visit Britain and we were talking about sustainable tourism. They have lots of facts and figures we are going to share with our tourism operators. "In a survey of people 78% of international travellers to England want a more sustainable experience and they will pay extra for that - I was amazed it was that high. They want to be able to go to venues and know that business has adopted initiatives - instead of seeing fiddly plastic cups wrapped in plastic they don't have single use plastic, they're looking to attend venues where they're using solar panels to create energy or rainwater is being recycled to wash sheets. Article continues below"We've got a duty with tourism, hospitality and leisure because they're big business rate payers, they employ a huge amount of people and they're the ones hardest hit at the moment in terms of energy costs. "Throughout all this we're asking residents, community groups and businesses to share their stories with us so we can help promote what's going on. There's lots of nuggets of really good stuff happening that we're not aware of unless people tell us about it. "Sign up to our main daily newsletter here and get all the latest news straight to your inbox for FREE