More than 100 local authorities across England have received funding from the Swimming Pool Support Fund to help them keep public pools open in the face of challenging financial pressures.

In total, Sport England has awarded 196 publicly owned leisure facilities with swimming pools from 103 authorities a share of £20.3m to support with increased cost pressures, associated with recent rises in energy and operating costs.

These pools and leisure centres were selected based on their risk of closure, the proximity to other swimming pools providing public swimming, and the level of demand for the facility.

The central Government fund, which was announced as part of the Spring Budget, is worth £60.3 million in total and is split into two phases. The awards being announced today, and £40m that's for investment to improve the energy efficiency of public facilities with pools in the medium to long term.

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