LOSSES of circa £250,000 at Lymm Leisure Centre during the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in reduced hours for members.
While regrettable, Lymm High School Head Teacher Gwyn Williams says he has had no choice if he is to secure the future viability of the community facility attached to the school.
Local residents fear the changes to the leisure centre and pool timetables will severely restrict access to the community facilities.
In a letter to members Mr Williams wrote: “As you know, the easing of government restrictions means that we have recently been able to re-open the leisure centre, including the swimming pool.
Whilst this is good news overall, the continued need for Covid restrictions means that there is only a limited number of slots available and there has been very high demand for these. We appreciate that this is not ideal and ask for your understanding that this is something that is beyond our control. We join you in hoping that government rules will be relaxed again as soon as possible.
“You will also have noted that the new timetable includes a reduction in opening hours for the swimming pool and fitness suite. A few members have, understandably, expressed regret at this and have enquired as to whether or not these opening hours will be continuing. We are writing today to confirm that these will indeed be the opening hours for the foreseeable future. The new timetable is attached at the bottom of this letter for reference.
“The reduction of hours is regrettable, and we do not underestimate the impact of this on certain members of our community; these decisions have not been taken lightly and certainly not without due regard for those most affected. However, the reality is that the financial situation is such that we have no other option if we are to ensure that Lymm Leisure Centre remains a sustainable enterprise, able to continue to serve local people well into the future.
“Covid-19 has hit the Leisure Centre hard. We anticipate having lost something in the region of £250,000 by the end of this academic year and have already had to make significant changes in order to keep going. The school is unable to subsidise this loss – to do so would be in contravention of the school’s funding agreement with the Department for Education, which states very clearly that school funding must only be spent for the benefit of students in the school. Without making these changes to opening hours, the Leisure Centre will not be able to repay this debt.
“Even before Covid, the economics of running a swimming pool meant we were making a significant loss during certain parts of the week (most obviously, early morning swims where customer numbers are low but staffing requirements are high). This, in turn, means that we cannot generate sufficient revenue to support longer-term capital investment.
“We have undertaken a detailed review over the past few months and are confident that the new model will ensure that we can manage costs and generate the revenues needed to avoid subsidy from
the school and provide much-needed investment in the leisure centre facilities. Whilst not wishing to minimise the impact on those individuals most affected, we are also confident that the new model allows us to maintain provision at the times when the vast majority of members wish to use the centre.
“Overall, we are very pleased that, amidst all the current challenges, we have been able to come up with a model that allows us to be able to continue to provide a very substantial offer to the local community for the long-term. This includes access to two artificial sports pitches, numerous good quality grass pitches, the sports hall, studio, fitness suite and an extensive programme of swimming lessons.
“We sincerely hope that you will continue to support us. However, we understand that the new opening hours might cause some members to re-evaluate your position. If you would like to cancel your membership, please email [email protected] and we will ensure you receive a refund for the remaining period of your contract.
“We are also reducing our membership fees in light of the reduction in opening hours. The new fees are attached to the bottom of this letter (please note that we have not applied any inflationary increases in prices in either 2020 or 2021 despite rises in costs). It is our hope that people will choose to support us by only renewing under this new fee structure once their current term of membership expires, but we will be happy to reimburse you for the relevant proportion of the difference between the old and new fees for the remainder of your current term if you wish; please email [email protected] if this is the case.
“While Covid restrictions remain in place, members continue to have the option of freezing your existing membership and using ‘pay as you go’ in the meantime.
“We hope this letter provides some clarity, as well as some context for the changes we are making. Once again, we apologise to those members most affected by this but trust that people can see how hard we are working to maintain as broad an offer to the local community as possible, at very competitive prices. Given the challenging circumstances of the past fourteen months and the impact on leisure centres elsewhere, we are sure you will agree that being able to announce that we are confident we can emerge from the pandemic with a sustainable model for Lymm Leisure Centre well into the future is a very positive step for our community.”
To see the revised opening hours CLICK HERE
