Planning Secured for £15.8m Decarbonisation of North Hertfordshire Leisure Centres

This marks a major step towards reducing emissions from community infrastructure and supporting the council’s ambitious goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040. The project not only cuts carbon but also futureproofs vital public services, improving energy efficiency, accessibility, and long-term resilience for thousands of local residents.

Working on behalf of Willmott Dixon, the contractor who is delivering North Herts Council’s £15.8 million programme, the team played a pivotal role in advancing this scheme under challenging parameters.

The programme, part-funded by £7.74 million of Salix Finance grant funding, aims to reduce CO₂ emissions by over 60% across Hitchin Swimming Centre, North Herts Leisure Centre (Letchworth), and Royston Leisure Centre, which will also see a new gym extension delivered.

Early-stage pre-planning advice was pivotal, and Bidwells provided comprehensive front-end planning support, including scope definition, planning input on design and technical disciplines, and management of all planning submissions including close liaison with the Local Authority throughout. All three consents were successfully secured, with pre-commencement conditions already discharged at two sites.

The team worked collaboratively to overcome planning challenges, including heritage sensitivities, protected species surveys, and M&E re-design work. Close collaboration with both the local authority planning department and Letchworth Heritage Foundation (in the case of North Herts Leisure Centre) proved instrumental, as did our ability to anticipate and resolve planning risks before they arose enabling the programmed works to commence on time.

Suzi Green, Associate, Planning, at Bidwells said:

"This milestone reflects the strength of our local authority relationships and our pragmatic approach to planning. We’re proud to support a project so clearly aligned with our sustainability strategy and B Corp commitments."

Image courtesy of Saunders Boston Architects.