Rishi Sunak’s new private heated swimming pool uses so much energy that the local electricity network had to be upgraded to meet its power demands, the Guardian has been told.
While many Britons are facing increased electricity bills – and are trying to limit their energy usage – extra equipment was recently installed in a remote part of North Yorkshire to provide extra capacity from the National Grid to the prime minister’s constituency home.
This followed Sunak’s construction of a new heated swimming pool, gym and tennis court in the grounds of the manor house he occupies at weekends. Engineers had to install a substantial amount of equipment and a new connection to the National Grid that runs across open fields.
Sunak will personally pick up the cost of the electricity upgrade work – estimated to have cost tens of thousands of pounds – in addition to the ongoing cost of energy consumption for the swimming pool.
Sunak’s constituency home is an imposing Grade II-listed manor with extensive gardens including a private lake, weir and boathouse. The home is surrounded by a sprawling collection of isolated farmhouses, and his immediate neighbours are three houses, a farm and the remnants of a medieval settlement.
Credit: theguardian.com
