LLANDYSUL’s community swimming pool could be left high and dry due to rising energy costs, it has emerged.

The board of trustees of Calon Tysul have held an emergency meeting setting out the enormity of the situation and to decide upon immediate measures to stay running during the cost-of-living crisis.

“People need to realise that this is a real and present danger to Calon Tysul,” said manager Matt Adams.

“We are being particularly hard hit by soaring energy costs because of the need to keep water and buildings warm throughout the year.

“Over the last few years, staff and volunteers have worked very hard to manage costs and make the centre sustainable.

“However, in the last three months, energy costs have nearly tripled.

“The current forecast is a spend of almost £120,000 on heating and lighting within the next year. Unfortunately, we are forced to reduce services to cope with the situation.”

Following the emergency meeting, restricting opening hours and reducing sessions as well as turning off the dry side boiler and turning lights down are just some of the measures brought in with immediate effect.

“The only long-term solution is to use less energy,” said Matt. “That’s why we are investing in energy-saving technology as well as a new boiler.”

During the past year, Calon Tysul have secured funding from Welsh European Funding Office and Sport Wales to place solar panels on the roof of the leisure centre and install a new heating system in a two-phase project.

The project will enable the centre to produce and store electricity for its own use and should lead to a significant reduction in electricity costs.

“The surge in energy prices has come too quickly for us to implement the project in time, but we are trying our best to accelerate the energy transition which is still a few months away,” added Matt.

The centre was officially opened by Ceredigion MP Ben Lake in December 2017 after Ceredigion County Council transferred Llandysul Leisure Centre to the swimming pool.