Bassetlaw District Council has approved up to £2 million in additional investment to complete the largest decarbonisation project it has ever undertaken — at Worksop and Retford Leisure Centres, two of the council's biggest carbon emitters. The work, due to begin this summer, is forecast to cut gas consumption at the two sites by almost 4 million kWh a year — equivalent to around 30% of all the council's building-related emissions — and save up to £74,000 a year on energy bills.

At a glance

  • What's happening: Major decarbonisation works at Worksop Leisure Centre and Retford Leisure Centre, both operated by BPL on behalf of the council
  • Total additional council investment: Up to £2 million, approved by Cabinet
  • Forecast annual gas saving: Almost 4 million kWh per year (~30% of all the council's building emissions)
  • Forecast annual energy-bill saving: Up to £74,000 per year
  • Original funding source: UK Government Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme — this paid for the equipment
  • Why the extra £2m is needed: Legal-negotiation delays meant the original grant deadline lapsed before the installation work could be carried out, so the council is funding the post-deadline installation itself
  • Construction begins: Summer 2026
  • Operated by: BPL (Bassetlaw Pool & Leisure)

What's actually being done

The two leisure centres — Worksop's and Retford's — together account for a significant chunk of Bassetlaw District Council's overall carbon emissions. Both run on gas-heavy systems for pool heating, building heating and hot water, which is the standard pattern for older public leisure infrastructure across England.

The decarbonisation programme will replace those gas systems with modern, low-carbon equivalents. The council has not in this update specified the exact mix of technologies being installed at each site, but the overall scale of the project — a 4 million kWh cut in annual gas consumption — points to a substantial heat-pump-and-electrification approach of the kind being rolled out at council-owned leisure sites across the country.

The financial case

The headline saving is up to £74,000 a year in energy bills across the two sites. Set against a council-funded contribution of up to £2 million, the simple payback period is around 27 years — but that calculation doesn't capture the rising trajectory of gas prices over the lifetime of the equipment, nor the cost the council would otherwise face if the buildings continued to run aging plant. Council officers have flagged the project as helping to safeguard the long-term operation of both leisure centres.

Cllr Darrell Pulk, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said the project would represent the largest decarbonisation Bassetlaw has ever undertaken, and that it supports the council's Vision 2040 strategy by bringing modern energy efficiency measures to essential community infrastructure.

Why the extra council money was needed

The original funding for the project came from the UK Government's Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, a national programme designed to help public buildings hit the UK's net zero by 2050 target. That funding covered the equipment.

However, complexities in the legal negotiations that had to be completed before the work could go ahead meant the installation work itself fell outside the grant deadline. Rather than abandon a project that had already been part-funded, the council has approved up to £2 million of its own money to carry out the post-deadline installation. In practical terms, this means the equipment has been bought; the council is now funding the install.

What this means for users of the leisure centres

BPL chief executive Michael Hirst welcomed the investment, but warned that the works are likely to cause "some temporary disruption" for customers. BPL's on-site teams will be working to minimise inconvenience as the programme rolls out across the summer.

The council has not yet published a detailed timetable of which areas of each leisure centre will be affected and when. Worksop Wire will update this article when the schedule is confirmed.

The wider context

Bassetlaw is one of around 80 English local authorities currently using the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme to retrofit major council-owned buildings. Leisure centres — with their large pool halls, long opening hours and high gas-use baselines — are typically among the highest-priority targets for this kind of programme.

For the wider council carbon budget, removing 30% of building-related emissions in a single programme is a meaningful step toward the council's Vision 2040 commitments. The remaining 70% of building emissions, plus emissions from fleet vehicles and contracted services, are the next major decarbonisation challenges.

Source: Bassetlaw District Council — Worksop and Retford decarbonisation project moves closer, May 2026.