Energy efficiency drive cuts Antrim & Newtownabbey Council’s bills by £220k, but costs set to rise

Sixmile Leisure Centre, Ballyclare

Energy cost-cutting measures have reduced Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council’s bills by £220,000, according to a report to councillors.

The report, due to be presented to a meeting of the borough council’s Operations Committee at Antrim Civic Centre on Monday evening, January 26, also indicates a nine per cent decrease in energy consumption during the first three quarters of the 2025/26 financial year compared with the same period in 2024/25.

A series of improvements aimed at reducing costs, emissions and reliance on fossil fuels during the current financial year will be outlined as councillors prepare to set domestic and non-domestic rates for the next financial year on February 9.

These include upgrades at Mossley Mill, Sixmile Leisure Centre, Ballyclare, and Theatre at the Mill, Newtownabbey, with modern heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) controllers; boiler replacements at Antrim Forum; and refurbishment of Sixmile Leisure Centre’s biomass boiler.

The report also states that the council’s estates services will “continue to prioritise the reduction of oil and gas use” through projects such as proposed solar panel installations at Mossley Mill, LED floodlighting upgrades at Antrim Forum, Valley and Crumlin Leisure Centres, Allen Park in Antrim, and Sixmile Leisure Centre in Ballyclare.

Plans also include the expansion of energy monitoring to 15 sites and heating control upgrades at Valley Leisure Centre, Antrim Forum and Ballyearl Leisure Centre in Newtownabbey.

Councillors were previously told that the council’s dependency on oil has fallen sharply, from 31 per cent in 2018/19 to four per cent in 2023/24. However, gas usage has doubled over the same period, rising from 31 per cent to 66 per cent.

During 2023/24, the council’s total energy bill stood at £2.3 million, covering 58 facilities. The most expensive site was Valley Leisure Centre in Newtownabbey, at a cost of £351,000, followed by Sixmile Leisure Centre, Ballyclare (£323,000), Antrim Forum/Mossley Mill (£320,000) and Antrim Civic Centre (£146,000).

However, during a recent round of rates estimates presentations, the council’s head of finance, Richard Murray, warned councillors that energy costs are expected to rise to approximately £2.7 million in the next financial year.

He cautioned that a number of risk factors remain outside the council’s control, including the “geopolitical” impact on global energy prices.