The future of Council-owned leisure centres on the Isle of Wight is still being reviewed 6 months on after membership levels at its three 1Leisure centres — Westridge, The Heights and Medina — have not recovered following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The service review has been ongoing since November and is looking at current income and expenditure levels. Councillor Julie Jones-Evans, the cabinet member for business development, said they are still gathering data, to understand how much money the authority is saving in energy costs after the recent installation of carbon reduction measures at Medina and The Heights.
The review is now likely to finish in the Autumn, Cllr Jones-Evans said, ready for the Council’s budget-setting decisions for next year. The authority has said it recognises the importance of the services to Islanders and visitors but is carrying out the review in light of the large increases in fuel costs and the overall impact of the cost of living crisis.
It had been intended the review would be finished by the end of last year, so it could help the Council consider financial decisions in the budget.
The outcome of the review will depend on the findings, a Council spokesperson said, and would primarily be used within the Council. If any significant decisions need to be made then the relevant information would be made public.
There were fears the leisure centres would have to close, due to the increasing running costs, to pay for some of the Island’s social care needs, but they were quashed. In the last financial year, the authority was facing a hole in its leisure and sports development budget of more than £1.2million.
Despite the 1Lesiure gym and fitness facilities being fully open and recent upgrades undertaken to equipment, One Card membership levels had been slow to recover. Cllr Jones-Evans told the scrutiny committee, membership levels are up 87% compared to 2019.
Prices at 1Leisure went up in April, in line with inflation, the council said. It introduced a ‘price for life’ scheme, which means users will pay the same price for their membership for the rest of the time they are members, as they did when they signed up.
As it is mostly the young who attend during working hours, being those who have chosen having children to gain a roof and income over getting a job, perhaps it would be wise of the Council to charge these idle beings a fee to enter such establishments?
As it is they are given everything free in life now, so the huge amounts they receive in state aid along with free rent and c. tax, it would not be too much trouble for them to pay towards their spa and gym membership, thus lowering the cost to those of us who do fund their idle lives in so many other ways.
Where does anything in this article mention anything about benefits claimants or have anything to do with the story? But go ahead, stir the pot.
If you go into the gyms you’ll find people of all ages, some retired but most working people, some do work shifts you know , not all jobs are 9 to 5 and we pay ! People should be encouraged to join gyms not just to get fit but for mental health reasons and to meet people maybe you should try it before labelling everyone.
It’s fundamentally not right that tax payers are subsidising some people’s leisure use. Either lease the facilities to a commercial company or close it down.
There were fears the leisure centres would have to close, due to the increasing running costs, to pay for some of the Island’s social care needs.
stop pandering to every sob story going and keep the leisure centre open
Perhaps reduce the salary of overpaid employees at the IOW Council and we could afford to keep this centre. The money mismanagement astounds me!
Keep the swimming pools but get rid of the gymnasiums, there are plenty of commercial ones
Entirely caused by government policy to cut all services for ‘normal’ hardworking people. Keep on voting for them and next time they’ll strip away virtually everything, NHS included. Tory Britain sucks.
I would have used it every day but they are too expensive and they charge for parking. You the council have priced yourself out of the Market.
Maybe people could afford the gym if you didn’t keep raising the Council tax?????
If we didn’t have to pay for you’re pension pot, we may have some money left for leisure and pleasure !!!!!!!.
Also people cannot commit to 1year membership due to changes in circumstances, maybe it could be as and when????
Surely you can see we are paying more for less services, you keep cutting!!!!!
Enough is enough….
Our wages only stretch so far ……