Announced ahead of tomorrow’s Spring Budget, the new one-year fund will allow local authorities to apply for funding for leisure centres with pools that face immediate cost pressures including operational and maintenance costs, and energy bills.

There are more than 2,000 public leisure centres in England, over 800 of which have pools.

The new fund will be managed by Sport England. In total, £40m will be made available for investment in decarbonisation and long-term energy efficiency, while £23m will help with costs to make these essential local hubs more energy efficient.

Council-run pools, pools run on behalf of councils by private companies and by charities are all eligible for support.

“Soaring bills are hitting us all hard, and community pools have been thrown in the deep end. I know they are loved by millions of people. This vital lifeline will keep them afloat,” said Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt.

Swim England and a coalition of other organisations had been campaigning for several months for increased financial support to help leisure facilities cope with unprecedented financial challenges caused by the energy crisis.

The governing body says that since October last year, around 350 facilities had already been hit by service reductions, temporary and permanent closures.

Jane Nickerson, Swim England chief executive, said the fund would help facilities become more environmentally sustainable.

“We welcome this intervention, which is an important recognition of the incredibly challenging situation currently facing swimming pools and their value to local communities. The financial support announced will undoubtedly make a difference for a number of vulnerable pools as they battle with increased energy costs.”

“We will continue to monitor the situation going forward and seek to work with the government to put swimming pools on a sustainable long-term footing to support the health and wellbeing of the nation.”