Open up places with air-con to help in heatwave, say Lib Dems

Air-conditioned buildings such as gyms, leisure centres and libraries should be opened up to the public during heatwaves, the Liberal Democrats have said.

The party is calling for the government to support turning spaces in these buildings into "cool hubs" to provide vulnerable people with respite from the heat.

Yellow heat health alerts have been issued until 15 July for central, southern and eastern parts of England by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).

Temperatures are expected to hit 34C (93F) in parts of the UK this weekend, as the country heads into the third heatwave of the summer.

The party says these would be the hot weather version of warm hubs, which were launched in autumn 2022 to provide people with a warm place to go amid high energy prices when some were worried about putting on the heating.

The hubs would be run in partnership with local councils and national government in public facilities like community centres. They wouldn't necessarily be in council owned buildings.

Some areas already run cool space schemes during warm months. London and Manchester both have networks of community cool spaces to escape the heat.

Outside the UK, Paris operates a network of "cool islands" during summer months where people can find cool places like museums, swimming pools and public parks via an app. Various US states also operate cooling centres.

An estimated 2,295 deaths were associated with heat in summer 2023 in the UK, according to figures from the UKHSA.

This spring has been the warmest and sunniest on record in the UK. A recent Met Office study said the chances of somewhere in the UK recording a temperature exceeding 40°C in the next 12 years is accelerating rapidly.

Liberal Democrat energy spokesperson Pippa Heylings called heat-related deaths "avoidable" and said cool hubs were a "common sense idea" that could "provide a refuge for vulnerable people to get away from this stifling, sweltering heat".

The party is also calling for the government to provide free insulation and heat pumps to low income households, to help keep homes cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

The UK has some of the least energy-efficient homes in Europe.

A government spokesperson said they would urge people to take extra care in the hot weather, and building regulations were in place to reduce the risk of new homes overheating.

"Housing tenants can speak to their council if excess heat means that their property is in a dangerous condition," they added.