Members of the economy and resources committee discussed the facility’s running costs after it emerged it is the local authority’s biggest energy user.
Co-leader Councillor Stephen Thompson branded it ‘remarkable’ that it is costs less to light up the whole of the region.
He said: “It’s remarkable that actually costs more than it does to light the whole of the region as a single attraction.
“But obviously it has a key strategic importance to us, so how do we make the most of that and it make it as efficient as possible.”
Responding, Property, Estates and Programmes Manager Paul McCulloch said: “We have a project in development at the moment to make the fabric of the building more airtight.
“The second thing is to replace the plant that is now at the end of life.”
Cllr Thompson also wondered what other measures the council can do on energy, saying: “It is clear that the cost of energy is the cost of daily living and whether it’s food, fuel or electricity, if we can harness that locally and create our own, that means we take a great stride towards tackling inequality for our residents and providing a sustainable future.
“It would be good to see if we can explore at pace any opportunity to capture or harness energy production. Even if we’re not making money out of it, we’re saving money in terms of costs in the future.”
Meanwhile, Cllr Campbell asked if all the region’s swimming pools could possibly regulate their temperatures to save costs.
And it was pointed out that a number of authorities in Scotland are looking at reviewing the opening hours of leisure centres.
Meanwhile, confirmation was given that dialogue has been taking place between the council and the trade unions over the matter of reducing the energy set point in council buildings.
