SIR – I am writing on behalf of myself and Councillors Hawarun Hussain and Martin Love to express our sincere gratitude to the brilliant Council officers who showed us around the newly-refurbished Shipley Pool last week.

The Council has invested in a huge array of energy-efficiency measures, installed new boilers and laid solar thermal and photovoltaic panels across most of the roof. It is a fantastic demonstration of what we can do to future-proof our older community buildings and puts Bradford firmly on the map in terms of investing in more sustainable ways of living.

The energy consumption of the pool used to be a shocking financial drain on the Council’s resources. Today, it is effectively a power station that is generating income for our community. All of the investment that we made will be paid back within a few years, and the carbon footprint of the building has probably been slashed by more than 60 per cent.

Every single Council employee involved in this flagship project deserves our deepest thanks and appreciation, and we hope that this ambitious achievement is matched by many similar projects in the years to come.

Coun Kevin Warnes, Green, Shipley Ward, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council c/o City Hall, Bradford