Powering a greener future at Witham Leisure Centre

Update: March 2025

We are thrilled that the project is now complete.

In total, the Sport England grant funded 983 solar photovoltaic panels which covers approximately 2000m2 on both the two carports and the roof.

Each panel at full peak generation will generate 415 watts per hour and the estimated annual output of the whole new system will save approximately 60 tonnes of carbon emissions. That’s enough power to annually boil around 14 million cups of tea, or charge an electric car to drive around the world roundabout 48 times!

Inside the leisure centre, there has been an upgrade to the internal lighting around the pool, squash courts, reception area and corridors which have seen all halogen lighting replaced with LED lighting. This new lighting will be at least 80% more efficient than the previous systems.

These energy efficiency measures not only reduce the running costs of the leisure centre but also support carbon reduction as part of the Braintree District Council’s commitments within the Climate Strategy.

If you are interested in installing either solar photovoltaic panels or LED lighting, the Energy Saving Trust and Better Housing Better Health both have excellent advice. Also keep an eye on Braintree District Council’s social media channels or newsletters for information on current promotions.

Update: 15 January 2025

The rooftop solar array is now complete and awaiting connection. Work continues rapidly on the car park elements of the solar canopy project which has been planned, prioritised and scheduled to cause as little disruption for leisure centre users as possible whilst keeping you safe at all times.

The solar panels are all installed on the front half of the central double canopy, which has allowed for car parking spaces to open up below the front half of the structure. The contractors are now working on installing panels on the remainder of the double canopy as well as to the single canopy behind to allow for the remainder of the car park to reopen.

It is anticipated the car park will be fully operational on or before Friday 31st January. We thank you for your continued patience.

Update: 23 December 2024

Since our last update, the solar PV array on the roof of the leisure centre is now fully installed and the scaffolding has been removed.

In the car park, all the steel works for the two canopy structures are complete and the contractors have started to install solar panels to the roof of the central canopy.

The contractors finished working for the Christmas break on 20 December and will return on 6 January. THE CAR PARK SHALL REMAIN CLOSED OVER THIS PERIOD FOR YOUR SAFETY. Maltings Academy has kindly allowed leisure centre users to park in the school’s available spaces, Monday to Friday, 15:30-21.00, until term begins again on 8 January.

Braintree District Council thank users of the leisure centre for your continued support and patience whilst this exciting project is under way.

As soon as possible in January, our contractors will carry out a phased reopening of the car park to support access for users.

Week commencing Monday 9 December

If you have visited or been past the centre recently, you will see that our contractors have been making a lot of progress! Everything is on schedule and no major obstacles have been encountered.

Works to instal solar panels to the roof are now almost complete and these will be connected at the same time as those in the car park. We are expecting the scaffolding to come down at the end of next week.

The car park canopy structures are well under way. Over the next couple of weeks, contractors will be running cables through these, to eventually connect the panels to the leisure centre.

The car park will remain closed until further notice.

Wednesday 20 November

Work has progressed rapidly this week. The anchor points for the car park are complete and installation of the steel framework for the carports has begun.

On the roof, almost all of the solar panels are in place and cabling is being laid ready.

Thank you for your patience while the car park remains closed.

Week commencing 18 November

It’s all systems go this week as the major car park works begin. Our contractors will be starting work on constructing the solar panel canopies.

The whole car park will be closed on Monday morning, until approximately midday – this includes disabled bays. We have taken this decision to safeguard leisure centre users. There will be a great deal of construction activity at the site on Monday morning and the risk to users’ health and safety is too high to allow entry.

There is currently a one-way system in the car park – please follow signs. From Monday 18 November, the car park will be closed to all but disabled users. Signage will be in place to direct users to Witham Sport Ground, which is a two minute walk away. 

We foresee that the disabled bays will reopen by midday. The rest of the car park will now remain closed while the major works are under way. Signage will direct users to alternative parking at Witham Sport Ground.

Please stay to the paths and do not enter the fenced off building site area – this is for your own safety.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Week commencing 11 November

Everything is on schedule and no major obstacles have been reported.

The site is now fully set up, with a contractors’ welfare unit and storage containers in place. Herras (temporary) fencing marks the boundary of site area, so please do not attempt to enter beyond this.

There is currently a one-way system in the car park – please follow signs. From Monday 18 November, the car park will be closed to all but disabled users. Signage will be in place to direct users to Witham Sport Ground, which is a two minute walk away. 

Works have progressed on the roof, with solar panel brackets loaded and ready to be fitted.

You might have seen some trenches being dug – these are for cabling that will transport the energy from the solar panels to the centre.

Thank you for your patience as the major works get under way. 

Week commencing Monday 4 November

On Monday 4 November, the scaffolding will be delivered and erected at the side of the building to allow access to the roof top for solar PV panel installation here. Storage containers and welfare huts will be going up in the back left corner of the site; these will be in place for the duration of the project. The contractors will be erecting Heras fencing on Monday for your safety whilst they dig trenches to lay electric cables. These will take the solar energy from the panels on the canopy structures to the leisure centre. The trenching works will close off no more than 40 car parking spaces towards the rear of the site for approximately one week.

We anticipate that the next major disruption will either be starting on 18 November or 25 November and will see most of the car park being closed for approximately six weeks. Disabled parking spaces will remain in use throughout the entire project and alternative parking will be in place at Witham Sport Ground, which is approximately two minutes’ walk from the leisure centre. Signposting will be in place to guide users.

Week commencing Monday 21 October

We are excited to be starting work!

On Tuesday, our contractors, Ren Energy, will begin testing the ground in the car park. This will give them ground condition information to ensure that the anchors used for the solar panel canopies will be installed to the right depth. This is critical to their future safety and stability.

Ground screw anchors will be used for securing the canopy structures directly to the ground, avoiding the need for traditional foundation solutions such as concrete. This will result in less disruption for the users of the leisure centre.The contractors will need to cone off 8-10 parking spaces, which they will do before the centre opens on Tuesday morning. No disabled spaces will be affected.

Each space will take approximately 20 minutes to complete, and as soon as the test on an individual space is complete, that space will be free for use again.

The works will be quite noisy, but not for long – drilling should only take about five minutes per space.

The contractors expect to be finished by the afternoon.

Thank you for your patience while we do this important work.

UPDATE: Works were complete by 11.22am and the car park is now fully available again. 

If you have any questions about the testing, please ask at the leisure centre front desk.