Flemish Sport Minister Ben Weyts is allocating € 6 million in extra funds to make swimming pools energy efficient by allowing the owners to invest in insulation, solar boilers or heat pumps, for example, and therefore structurally reduce their rising energy bills.
This new incentive comes on top of the €18 million already invested in 28 swimming pools. Once energy costs are under control, operating a swimming pool becomes much easier and more affordable. Weyts is also supporting brand-new swimming pools, which will be built all over Flanders in the coming years.
"We are investing on two fronts: there will be 40 new swimming pools and we are making another 40 or so swimming pools more energy-efficient and therefore more affordable," said Weyts.
Flanders is making work of more swimming pools. The investment budget for sports infrastructure, for example, at €185 million, has never been higher than in this coalition period. Flanders also encouraged local governments to work together so that they can realise new swimming pools with combined forces.
Wave of new pools
This approach is bearing fruit, as the years-long decline in the number of swimming pools has stopped. Weyts even foresees a wave of new swimming pools now, with a decree more than tripling the financial support for building a swimming pool.
There is also support for existing swimming pools. Weyts previously released €18 million for energy-saving measures in 28 swimming pools.
Now, he is allocating an additional €6 million to make even more swimming pools energy efficient; Flanders will bear 60% of the total investment cost. A single swimming pool can receive up to €600,000 in support to take energy-saving measures such as installing new windows, improving insulation or installing solar boilers.
This allows operators to make substantial and structural savings on their bills. Rising energy bills are today a threat to many older swimming pools, which almost by definition have a high energy cost. Operation becomes much more feasible after installing heat pumps, for example.
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"We need more swimming pools and we will make that happen in the coming years. Flanders is making the local governments the offer to invest a total of €180 million, so that there will be 40 new swimming pools," Weyts said.
"But we are also ensuring that existing swimming pools keep running: energy-saving measures can make the difference between being able to stay open and having to close," he said. "I am now launching an appeal to all operators to sign up for this offer. My successor may be the one allowed to allocate the funds, but so be it. I do not want to make our swimming pools wait until after the elections."
