The revamp covers centres in Hitchin, Royston and Letchworth, and is one of the region’s biggest carbon-cutting leisure projects.

This latest deal follows on from a similar retrofit package of work in Oxford, where a four-centre decarbonisation scheme cut emissions by 56%.

Work will include ripping out old gas boilers and replacing them with air source heat pumps, fitting solar panels, new glazing, insulation and air handling units, plus a suite of energy-saving kit.

The aim is to slash CO₂ emissions by more than 60% and help the council hit net zero by 2030.

The job was procured through the SCAPE Construction Framework, with £7.74m of the cost funded by the government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme via Salix Finance. Willmott Dixon helped the council secure the funding.

Willmott Dixon’s operations director Steve Kitchen said the work supports the company’s “Now or Never” net zero drive to create greener, more sustainable public spaces.