The rise in energy bills has forced Wiltshire Council to close the sauna and spa facilities of some of its leisure centres.

The closures will affect seven centres and will begin on January 9 as the services now cost £80,000 a year to run, according to the cabinet member for leisure councillor Ian Blair-Pilling.

In an email sent to leisure centre members the council wrote: “Just like you at home, we are affected by the much-publicised increase in energy bills that the whole country is currently experiencing, and it has an impact on some of the services we provide.

“In order to be able to continue to provide you with the rest of our high-quality leisure services we have made the necessary decision to close the sauna, steam room and spa pool facilities in:

  • The Olympiad Leisure Centre, Chippenham.
  • Springfield Community Campus, Corsham.
  • Five Rivers Health and Wellbeing Centre, Salisbury.
  • Bradford on Avon Swimming Pool, Bradford on Avon.
  • Devizes Leisure Centre, Devizes. 
  • Durrington Swimming and Fitness Centre, Durrington.
  • Marlborough Leisure Centre, Marlborough. 

The facilities will no longer be available from the 9 January 2023.”

The swimming pools will remain open.

The email goes on to say: “This is a temporary closure, which we shall review when we have been able to establish its impact. We’ll keep you updated of any more developments.

“We know that this will be a disappointment for some, but these facilities are very expensive to run and maintain.

“Some are more popular than others, but in the current climate it is very hard for us to justify keeping them open.

“These facilities use a significant amount of energy and closing them, even for a short period of time, will significantly reduce our overall energy consumption.

“We hope you understand and support why we’ve taken this decision. If you need any more information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch LeisureAdminTeam@wiltshire.gov.uk
“We look forward to seeing you at one of our centres soon.”

Cllr Blair-Pilling added that on top of the £80,000 a year to run the facilities there were also additional repair and maintence costs.

The cost-of-living crisis has been putting services across the county under a lot of stress and the council has been setting up support for people in need.

The council has a link to support and financial advice which can be found here.