Since last November Blaby District Council has been working tirelessly to resolve the landfill gas issues at Huncote Leisure Centre, following the discovery of elevated levels during routine maintenance works.

An additional £100,000 in funding has been added to the budget and continues Blaby District Council’s commitment to ensure the landfill gases on the site are managed at safe levels.

Following the closure of Huncote Leisure Centre and the surrounding site in November 2021, extensive work has been undertaken by the Council’s contractors to reduce the landfill gas levels. This work included the installation of gas extraction systems, venting wells, water sampling equipment and monitoring points.

£500,000 was ring-fenced for the completion of the work on the site shortly after the elevated levels were discovered. Initial works were completed and have brought levels down during high atmospheric pressure conditions, however, some higher levels are being recorded by monitoring points during low pressure conditions.

Further additional works are required to reduce these levels Including installing de-gassing equipment on to the main site at the rear of the leisure centre and an upgrade to the onsite monitoring equipment.

The Council has a legal duty to prevent any landfill gas or contaminants from leaving the site and to keep on-site gas levels below safe thresholds. To ensure a long-term solution is delivered further works need to take place whilst monitoring continues during high and low pressure atmospheric conditions, as landfill gas levels vary depending on the pressure in the atmosphere.

Therefore we can confirm that Huncote Leisure Centre and the surrounding site, including the public footpaths and parish council sports field, will continue to remain closed for the foreseeable future.

Over the last few months some people have removed, or even damaged the fencing in place to protect people in order to walk over the affected fields. To maximise the safety of everyone and to ensure the security of the site, improved fencing will be erected around the site.

The site will remain closed to enable us to ensure the long-term safety of people using the site. The Council’s priority remains to ensure that the site and surrounds are made safe for the long term, and residents and any future site users are protected. We will continue to revisit our decision to keep the site closed regularly, in close liaison with, and on the advice of, our specialist contractors.

We appreciate that this is a loss of amenity for those people that use the site and can assure you we are doing all we can to ensure the site is safe, and we thank you all for your patience.

Residents living around the site should continue to be reassured that there is no immediate risk to property. Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service have confirmed that residents do not need to keep their windows and doors closed and we are continuing to monitor the landfill gas levels of those properties within the vicinity of the site, whilst any work continues.