your local council-run leisure centres... how much do they cost?

[starlover]

We've just had a brand spanking new leisure centre built here... there has been lots of advertising, about how they want to get crawley healthy etc etc etc

So i thought well i shall go along and see how much it is to use the gym there, and also if they do any activities for littlies

Prices include:

£2.80 for a 45 minute soft play session
£2.80 for a swim
£40 a MONTH for adult membership (i can join a private gym for less than that)
£23 for junior membership!!!

membership is on a 12 month contract too..

i think this is extortionate, for a public leisure centre with an "aim" to helping get the people here fit... most people won't even be able to afford to go!

we pay 3.95 for 1.5hours soft play.
3.00ish for a swim

not sure on the other 2, my sister paid 50 amonth for her and her dh for private gym membership.

Mine is £46 a month for full membership - no contract though. Much cheaper than Virgin/Holmes Place etc. Always find the softplay extortionate though at about £2.95 for an hour in a crap manky ball pit.

My one is great, the creche only costs £2.50 for 2 hours and the care is amazing. I pay £30 per month and for that I get everything, swim/gym/classes/court hire
Soft play for an hour is £2.60 for members.

god.. the prices are what i would expect in a private place... not somewhere designed for EVERYONE to use.
what's the point in having a public leisure centre if the prices are so high no-one can afford to use it?

i'd rather pay the same amount and go to the private one!

agree, Starlover.

the creche at ours makes it worthwhile though - v reasonable and FANTASTIC care.

lockets' sister works at our creche!!!

haven't checked it out... think it's £2.60 an hour, but they only have room for 3 under 1's

Totally agree Starlover! Here in Poole & Bournemouth you don't have to be a member to use any of the public leisure centres. They run the access to leisure scheme, I don't know if it's a nationwide thing - you buy a card for about £3 -you're entitled to it if you're on working tax credits - and get very reduced rates at certain sports centres. I can swim at our pubic pool for 80p and dd goes free. Without it it's about 2.50 I think.

I'd be concerned about the 12 month contract too, girl I worked with tried to cancel and found out she couldn't as it was a finance agreement with a 3rd party she had actually signed, so even if she had wanted to just do the 12 months, because if contract terms she had to give so much notice, she couldn't just let the 12 months run out, without giving formal notice she had to pay for a 2nd year.

Ours is £20 per month for family. No contract
It's really good. For a change the council get's something right and is vfm.
Can be used at all local authority owned facilties in region (which is probably about a dozen places), and now even local non-council sports centre accepts it.

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can you get a passport to leisure?? ours are cheaper with that.. kids go swimming free in the holidays and half-term... if your on family credit you get it cheaper as well...

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those prices do seem high but then you are dahn sarf...
We pay £1.90 to swim with a saver card (£10 a year) or £2.30 without, junior swim £1.35 I think.
I have a swim and workout card (ie not gym, but yes classes, pilates, aerobics, veloton) which is £230 a year I think so about £20/month, not bad.
That's to use any leisure centre in town as well, 4-5 to choose from inc 2 with pools.
No soft play, but the creche, tho only available limited hours, is fab and costs £1.20/hr.
Maybe we are well off.
They are a bit shabby tho.

Just under 10 quid for me to take 2 kids swimming. Cant afford it and dont. That would be about 6 quid buses there and back aswell. So something to eat at the centre would mean about 30 quid to pop swimming. We dont. The kids have lessons. 70.20 a term once a week.

Sounds about the same as mine.

Needless to say, don't use it except for DS's swimming lessons, which are part-paid by birthday, christmas money etc. I get so irritated by the Sports Council Logo "Sport for All".

Not at those prices, mate.

you see, ds is only 9 months so obviously doesn't get much use out of the facilities. but if they have junior membership they get to go to all activities and swimming free

so i figured well, i'd get him membership then wouldn't have to worry about paying every time we went to soft play etc... but i'd have to go a lot to justify the £23 a month fee!!! lol

i really thought it would be much more reasonable than that...

i too am a member of cannons which unbeliavbely only cost £2 per month more than my local 'council' leisure centre!

It is great, its CLEAN, and the pool is warm, AND you are allowed toys etc in the pool (AND they provide loads of toys etc in the toy room) AND they have kids Tv on in the changing rooms AND they have free kids holiday activities in the school holidays, AND its free to take the children in with me too! (oh AND its less than 10 mins from where i work!)

our local cannons is LESS per month than the leisure centre!

what is cannons?

Cannons is a 'brand' of private health club..... like David Lloyyd (but not as expensive as D L!)

i did used to belong to esporta... that reallyt was extortionate!

I am a bit hazy on the prices but out local leisure centre goes something like this:-

Swim £2.80, children over 5 are about £1.80 (less in the School hols), children under 5 free, there are discount schemes, 10 use tickets or a discount card that you can buy.

Fitness Class £4.10 (free swim before or after class), as above various discount schemes.

Don't know how much a gym session is probably about the same.

I have a fitness class pass which costs £37 over 10 months - £370 a year. This also includes swimming. You can buy a pass that includes the gym too and I think this is about £42 a month.

Creche - £1.20 if staying in the centre yourself, I buy a 10 session card, not sure how much it is normally. Creche is more than this if you are leaving the building.

On the whole not much cheaper than our local private health club for the classes etc but the creche is much cheaper (they want about £4.00 per session).