York and North Yorkshire Mayor David Skaith has welcomed £700,000 in government funding for the region to invest in cheaper, clean energy systems in community buildings.
The grant comes via the new Mayoral Renewables Fund and will support installation of solar panels across a range of community facilities in York and North Yorkshire, including Yearsley Swimming Pool in York, Whitby Leisure Centre and the Active North Yorkshire Ripon – The Jack Laugher Centre.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) announced the funding today, (17/07/25) and estimate the combined savings to the venues as £4million over the lifetime of the technology.
The mayor spoke directly with Ed Miliband, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, today to explain how the region aimed to achieve its ambition of carbon negative by 2040 and the benefits it would bring to communities. The award was one of the biggest to any of the mayoral bidders in England.
David Skaith said: “We’re putting our commitment to supporting communities and tackling climate change into action. Via the new Mayoral Renewables Fund we will invest £700,000 into community facilities – so they spend less on energy and more on supporting people.
“York and North Yorkshire has the world-class universities, natural resources and ambition to be a trailblazer. We need to take action for our communities who suffer the devastation of flooding and for our farmers who face unpredictable weather.
“We are backing exciting projects that change how we heat our homes, produce electricity, and grow our food.
“Through the Mayoral Renewables Fund, our Net Zero Fund, and Carbon Negative Challenge Fund, we will continue to drive a more sustainable future that can benefit communities and businesses, and we can go further, faster, with more government support.”
As well as the Mayoral Renewable Fund, the projects are also supported with funding from City of York Council and North Yorkshire Council.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for managing our environment, Cllr Richard Foster, said: “This funding will help to continue our work to ensure that North Yorkshire is a cleaner, greener and more environmentally-friendly place to live, work and visit.
“Our ambition is to ensure that the council is operating with net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and schemes such as this are vital to making sure that we do achieve this.
“This funding for our leisure centres in Whitby and Ripon will introduce green technology such as solar panels in venues that are at the heart of our communities, providing cheaper ways of generating energy while helping to protect the environment.”
Leader of City of York Council, Cllr Claire Douglas, said: “Investment like this will make a really positive difference for facilities like Yearsley swimming pool. A lot of energy is used to heat the pool, ensuring residents have a great option for being active. Fantastic facilities like Yearsley are what helps York have one of the most active adult populations in the country, so it’s important we invest in their future.
“Installing solar panels on buildings like this will help to reduce energy costs, meaning we can save money and redirect it into essential services for our residents.
“We’ve got a big net zero ambition in York. Working with other organisations to make improvements like this also has a long-term benefit for the climate. It’s part of a range of ways we’re supporting this ambition, including investment in homes and public buildings in the city to make them as energy efficient as possible.”
Venues supported by the funding, in York and North Yorkshire
- Transport & Logistics, Thirsk
- Athena House, York
- Eastfield Local Policing Office, Scarborough
- Whitby Leisure Centre
- Thirsk & Sowerby Leisure Centre
- Active North Yorkshire Ripon – The Jack Laugher Centre.
- Yearsley Pool, York
- Joseph Rowntree School, York
- Acomb Explore, York
