'We're being more eco-friendly' - Will councillors approve heat pump installation at leisure centre?
Councillors are set to approve the installation of new heat pumps to power Dunston Leisure Centre as part of the council’s initiative to make public buildings more eco-friendly.
Gateshead Council’s planning and development committee will meet on October 1 to decide on an application to install eight new heat pumps to power Dunston Leisure Centre. A council report compiled by officers recommends the plans be given the green light.
The report states: “The air source heat pumps are intended to provide low-carbon heating and hot water to the leisure centre, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and supporting the Council’s climate change commitments. The scheme forms part of the wider programme of energy efficiency improvements across Gateshead Council’s public buildings.”
Five letters of opposition were recorded by the council in relation to the plans. According to the local authority, the complaints focused on the potential noise created by the pumps and the possibility of the devaluation of neighbouring homes.
However, the plans require the pumps to be encased in a solid barrier to reduce sound. In addition, property devolution is not recorded as a “material consideration” in this case. The council’s report also states: The application site is not widely visible from public vantage points, being contained within the wider leisure centre site and screened by mature trees to the south and east.”
Gateshead Council agreed to hand over Dunston Leisure Centre, as well as Gateshead International Stadium, to provider GLL. The move was prompted by the need for the council to find savings in its expenditure, owing to the authority’s “extreme” financial pressures.