To think leisure centres are too expensive for many families?

[BettyBottersBetterButter]

AIBU to think many families simply can't afford to access most sporting facilities & council-run leisure centres in particular need to lower their prices if exercise is the key to tackling childhood obesity.

I'd like my DS to learn to swim & having dismissed most private classes costing £60/70 a term as too expensive I went to enrol him at swim school in the leisure centre - £115 for an 11 week term. He's 4 ffs . A gym session is £8 & exercise classes £7.50 and a family swim £12.75 . Ahh but it's ok if you're family want to come regularly you can get family membership giving unlimited use of the facilities: £150 A MONTH

Are these fees normal nowadays or do I live near the UK's priciest leisure centre (possible as it's an affluent area but surely not everyone's rolling in it)

YANBU!!!! Would love to swim more, but costs a fortune.

6 week summer hols really highlights how expensive EVERYTHING is.

glad weather good as can walk, cycle and play in park, but know what U mean! Nothing is cheap anymore. :(

Our leisure centre charges just under £60 for a 14 week swimming lesson course. They also have 2 hours free swim for anyone aged under 16 every Monday during the Summer holidays. Not sure if they do family memberships but mine costs £36 p/m and I have use of all the facilities in my local and all the other surrounding area leisure centres owned by the same company.

Yikes! Crazy isn't it? Our prices make me cringe, although I don't think they are quite that high. Although kids aren't at an age we have to pay for them yet.

That's madness! Our local swimming pool cost £3.50 for me to swim and about 60p for DS! Swimming lessons are about £40 a term I think

Toowet £30/40 a month (maybe £60/70 for a family) sounds more reasonable & at least you get a full 14 week term for your swimming lesson fees.

I'm just so at the price of ours I want to complain to someone & highlight the issue but not sure who would care or listen - local mp maybe?

Many local authority facilities have traditionally been subsidized so you may be seeing the effect of LA cuts and now be being faced with the full economic costing - which is pretty humungous.

Our pool is £3.20 per adult and kids are free under 17 which is handy. Can still only afford to go once a week at a push tho as me and OH both like to go with DS

Swimming is FREE for all children in Wales during all school holidays...but in general YANBU the majority of leisure centre activities are overpriced, it'll only get worse as councils cut leisure budgets.

Your leisure centre sounds very expensive.

My DC did intensive swimming lessons all last week. £15 per child for 5 x 30 mins lessons.

A family swim is £7.25. But the DC can swim for free between 2-4pm every afternoon, funded by the WAG. It gets busy at that time though, so we have been taking advantage of the summer offer - spend over £10 in the cafe and get a free family swim voucher, then going swimming at quieter times.

My DC are also doing Football (£5 for 2hrs), Karate (£2.50 for 1hr), Cricket (£5 for 2hrs), Basketball (£5 for 2hrs) and Trampolining (£5 for 2hrs) coached sessions over the holidays.

We also regularly book a badminton court for the 4 of us to play, which costs £3.90 for 55 minutes.

I think my leisure centre is incredibly good value.

Our local leisure centre is really expensive too. It's £12.90 for a family swim and the pool isn't even that nice.

We live in an area with beautiful,countryside so I walk, run and bike instead.

I also play a lot of badminton which works out at a good price.

All under 17's are free to swim all year round where I live

Swimming here in Lancashire is free Monday to Friday 12-4 during school holidays and free Tuesday and Thursday 12-4 during term time. The rest of the time it's £3.20 for adults and 50p for under 17's. Lessons are £40 for 10 weeks. Not too bad.

There is an amazing difference from centre to centre

I used to live in Quebec and our local heated beautiful pool was free for everyone, all the time. You literally just walked straight in and went swimming. It was nice because you didnt have to carry your purse or id.
Kids swimming lesson were also free.

I was just thinking this yesterday when I took my dds swimming. We have an hour in the morning of the holidays where kids only cost 50p but adults cost £4, so it's £5 just for an adult and 2 dcs. We can manage it regularly but I know loads of families who can't.

I would love to see more subsidies for getting kids active, but I guess that in the current economic climate the government won't be starting anything like that anytime soon.

Rhino

The free kids swimming during holidays is a pilot initiative funded by the Welsh government and not by local authorities or other providers.

Yanbu. It's too expensive. What a shame the free swimming for children was abolished.

This links with the thread on childhood obesity. It's false economy but our government don't join up the dots do they?

Yep £6 per swim and £4 for kids so £14 if I take 2 children!

Another centre has only a few hours free swmming and tie everyone into expensive swimming lessons!

That does sound really expensive.

We pay £84 a month as a family, and that is full gym and swim membership for DH and I, weekly swimming lessons for DS1 that run continuously even through the school holidays, and unlimited swimming for the DCs.

I would give your MP a try, they probably aren't even aware that the prices are so high.

Local councillor is probably a better bet. They have a more direct input into budgetary decisions.

A lot of councils sub contract the leisure centres out to private companies......they still own the buildings, but it is a profit making enterprise for a private company.
Sadly that means they will charge as much as they can get away with. Which, as you say, puts it out of reach for many.

We're so so lucky here. Our council runs a scheme where family membership is only about £26 a month giving access to all the facilities including pools, gyms, exercise classes, climbing walls, kids activities and coaching, and swimming lessons. It's fabulous.

The Virgin Active private club that I belong to costs less than £150 a month for me and three children!!!! That membership you quote is insane. I live in central London and our local leisure centre has free kids swimming throughout the summer.

Perhaps look a little further afield?

I completely agree, it's really expensive. For me to take DS1 (5), DS2 (3) and myself to swim, it's just over £8. Swimming lessons are around £80 per term. DS1 has just started to get into his swimming (after being very scared of the water), but now wants to swim every day! There's no family membership at our centre, so it can really add up. I feel a bit mean telling him he can't go when he's been so good moving forward with his swimming.

What I find weird is that they don't charge for children until they reach 5, after that you have to pay. Surely once they reach 5 most children are really finding their way in the water and moving towards swimming independently. It seems a silly age to start charging if they want to promote health and water safety.

Wow, your prices are high! Ours are £3 per adult to swim, children free under 16, £5 for family swim.

Belfast City Council have good schemes here for the unwaged, low income & even I think if you have a chronic illness you can apply to your GP to recommend you for some free access. Atm they have been renovating some of the centres too which makes a huge difference.