Larkfield Leisure Centre's Fitness Pool Comes Off Gas for Good

Larkfield Leisure Centre's 25 metre fitness pool is no longer heated by gas. Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council has completed the installation of new air source heat pumps at the Aylesford site, with the pool and pool hall's temperature now managed by electric heat pumps rather than gas-fired boilers - a change invisible to the public but, the council says, one of the more significant steps in its push to cut emissions across its leisure estate.

Larkfield is the borough's busiest pool by some distance - 189,000 swims in 2025 alone, out of 738,000 total visits to the centre, known locally as much for its flumes and lazy river as its lane swimming. That scale is exactly why the council picked it to lead a wider decarbonisation programme: a facility this heavily used offered the clearest case for cutting both emissions and long-term running costs. The heat pump work forms part of a £2 million investment at the site, which is run on the council's behalf by leisure operator tmactive.

The project drew £1,164,760 from the government's Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, administered by Salix Finance for the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, plus a further £370,000 from Sport England and additional money through the Business Rates Pool Shared Growth Fund. The same funding pot also paid for more efficient LED lighting and extra solar panels on site - Larkfield now has 600 panels installed over the past two years, meaning more of the electricity the new heat pumps draw on can be generated on site rather than bought in.

Cllr Robin Betts, the council's Cabinet Member for Housing, Environment and Economy, said: “This is a change that may not be visible to users but has been an important project for the council and marks a significant step in our efforts to reduce carbon emissions across our leisure facilities. By investing in modern, low-carbon technology we are helping to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, which is important for the future of our environment, our leisure users and our residents.” tmactive chief executive Emma Wood added: “The fitness pool at Larkfield Leisure Centre is incredibly popular with the local community. Local people value the quality of the facilities available and that includes our sustainability and energy efficiency credentials.”

Larkfield isn't an isolated project. Tonbridge Swimming Pool had 140 solar panels fitted in 2024, and the council says plans are progressing for a new low-carbon Angel Centre in Tonbridge to replace the current one. Taken together, the council is betting that a few big, unglamorous infrastructure jobs - heat pumps, solar panels, better insulation - will do more for its net-zero target than any amount of messaging, while also insulating its leisure budget from swings in gas prices that have hit council finances hard in recent years.

Source: Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council