LEISURE staff in Pendle are turning up the heat in a bid to find ways of preventing keep-fit enthusiasts from getting hot under the collar.

Council officers have been asked to find £6,000 to cover the cost of installing cooling equipment at West Craven Sports Centre, Barnoldswick, after complaints that the multi-purpose room was too hot to handle.

When the room was opened in September 1997 minus radiators, staff were worried it might prove too cold and portable heaters would have to be brought in over winter.

"However, it has become apparent that the opposite situation applies and that, at times, it is impossible to maintain a low enough temperature," said council architectural services manager John Redhead, in a report to the authority's West Craven area committee.

Air heated to 21 degrees Centigrade is fed into the room and there are extraction grills to take it out again, but windows in the room do not open.

Staff looked at lowering the temperature of the air supply but decided against it because they did not want to leave people using the other areas it supplies, such as changing rooms, out in the cold.

Specialist firms were approached and Blackburn air conditioning company East Lancashire Refrigeration quoted the lowest price of £4,887, plus VAT, to install a cooling unit. A further £1,000 would have to be spent to cover installation costs, said Mr Redhead.

The area committee agreed the work needs doing and asked officers to find the money from council coffers.

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