On 23 April 2025, an executive decision was published under the delegated authority of the Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance, Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Public realm and the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism, which agreed to proceed with the procurement and subsequent installation of a new energy efficient heating system, with funding from the Salix (Government decarbonisation scheme) and the Community Regeneration Fund. The recommendations included the following, which relate to this decision:
(a)The Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Public Realm agrees the strategy set out in this report for addressing the boiler failure at Clacton Leisure Centre, following an action set out for delivery in the Council’s Sport and Activity Strategy;
(b)on behalf of the Cabinet and using the special urgency powers, in accordance with Parts 3.X and 5.8, the Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Public Realm agree for the Council to accept Salix Funding to the value of £1,204,481 and enter into the Funding Agreement, as set out in Appendix A, for the purpose of purchasing and installing a new Boiler and associated plant for Clacton Leisure Centre; and
(c) subject to (a) and (b), the Portfolio Holder for Economic Growth, Tourism and Regeneration together with the Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Public Realm agree to allocate £164,248 from the Community Regeneration Partnership Funding, as the Council’s contribution to the purchase of a new boiler at Clacton Leisure;
(d)subject to (a) & (b) above, that the installation of a new boiler system for Clacton Leisure is added to the Capital Programme in 2025/26 with a total budget of £1,368,730 ;
Following a procurement process the overall budget required increasing, to reflect a slightly higher contract value than was originally projected. As such, the Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Leisure and Public Realm made the following decision on 18 December 2025, to increase the overall budget:
To transfer £60,000 from an over achievement in Clacton Leisure Centre income budgets into the Clacton Leisure Centre Swimming Pool Heating System Replacement capital project budget to be funded by revenue income to increase the overall project budget from £1,368,729 to £1,428,729 and ensure there is a £107,403 contingency available for the project.
What does the project include?
This boiler replacement project will involve installing a large heat pump system designed to 50/45 flow and return temperatures which will provide heat to the air handling units; one of which will be replaced and the other will receive a new heating coil, new radiator circuit, new shell and tube heat exchanger and part of the domestic hot water load to the calorifier. A second smaller heat pump system designed to 65/60 flow and return temperature will be used for the remaining domestic hot water load in conjunction with a twin plate domestic hot water bespoke calorifier. The current oil fuel consumption is estimated to be 986,691 kWh, and it is projected the new system which will be powered by electricity, will decrease this to 231,402 kWh following installation. The project will include a further installation of new solar photovoltaic (PV) panels, which will convert sunlight into electrical energy to support powering the new heating system.
Following publication of the decisions above, a procurement process was followed to select an appropriate mechanical contractor through a transparent process and following the scoring and moderation, Re-gen (UK) M&E were the highest scoring bid.
The Council has previously engaged Heaton Design and Engineering Ltd as a consultant to oversee this project, and completion of detailed specification, design, tender preparation, and project management. This will provide the Council with specialist mechanical expertise and dedicated resource to oversee the contract and advice accordingly.
In addition,
A further decision has been previous published on this matter below:
Decision - Exemption from procurement rules to appoint Heaton Design and Engineering Ltd for the Clacton Leisure Centre Oil Boiler Replacement

To enter into a contract on behalf of the Council with Re-gen (UK) M&E to the value of £1,308,606 from a total budget of £1,428,729.

Completion of this work will put Clacton Leisure Centre in a positive position, by ensuring the heating system is both cost effective, low carbon and importantly, ‘future proofed’ this important Council asset by installing a sustainable and new heating system for the swimming pool area.