Elderly hit by leisure centre price increase

Elderly hit by leisure centre price increase

21 June 2017

A FLAGSHIP Down Council policy to improve the health of the over 60s is on the verge of being significantly scaled back by the new council.

Newry, Mourne and Down Council wants to dramatically increase the amount it charges the over 60s to use gyms and fitness suites at leisure centres from £3.60 a year to £15 a month.

The nominal cost was brought in by the former Down Council in a bid to encourage the over 60s to improve their fitness and health. Included in the £3.60 cost was access to swimming pools, saunas and steam rooms.

But this week the council’s Active and Healthy Communities Committee agreed to scrap the £3.60 annual gym membership cost and replace it with a much larger cost of £15 a month, or £180 a year, which will affect over 380 older residents in Downpatrick and Newcastle.

The decision to introduce such a large hike comes as the council prepares to introduce one pricing structure across the former Down and Newry and Mourne Council areas. While Down Council preferred the £3.60 charge for gym 

membership, there was no such preferential charge in Newry Sports Centre where the fitness suite was run by a private concern.

But with a major new leisure centre soon to open its doors in Newry, the council will be taking back control of the fitness suite and says it cannot afford to introduce a lower cost gym membership for the over 60s.

To grant the £3.60 annual gym membership across the new council area would cost the local authority around £54,000 which officials say is too costly. It has been agreed the cost for the over 60s will be £15 which officials have claimed is still the cheapest deal of any council in Northern Ireland and in Louth.

A council report presented to Monday’s meeting also reminded councillors that their targets were to grow visitors to their leisure centre but also to reduce the net cost of operating from £3.14m to £2.53m per annum by 2021.

The hike in gym membership for the over 60s will affect 80 users at Downpatrick Leisure Centre, 51 at Ballymote, and 164 at Newcastle who are registered with the current over 60s scheme along with a number of others in Kilkeel.

The report notes: “This option would have a positive impact on service provision for Newry customers, however this may be perceived negatively by the 380 customers within its remaining facilities as this means that those who wish to avail of the gym would have to pay an additional fee.”

Extending the £3.60 charge across the board could “cause capacity issues within its facilities, particularly the new Newry Leisure Centre Phase”, the report notes, and could lead to a £54,000 annual reduction in income.

Downpatrick councillor Cadogan Enright expressed concern at the price hike, pointing out that it was targeting people the committee wanted to be healthy and active. 

However, the plans were accepted by the committee with minimal discussion and they now have to be ratified at the next full meeting of council.

Speaking afterwards councillor Enright said the current charging policy was “something Down Council could be proud of”.

“We are overturning a longstanding tradition for older people,” he said. “We are trying to encourage people to be fit and healthy.”

Councillor Enright said the price increase was following a pattern when it came to aligning prices between the old Newry and Down areas of the new expanded council.

“We do not always have to go up to the high level,” he said.

Councillor Enright said he felt part of the broader problem at council meetings was a growing trend of trying to push items through without “discussion or debate”.

He said he did not believe his fellow councillors had fully considered the issue before Monday’s meeting and is asking them to look again ahead of the full council meeting on July 3.

“This was a 30 point agenda with hundreds of pages,” councillor Enright added. “I am asking them to reconsider their position on this.”

If the price increase is voted through, he is advising the over 60s to sign up for leisure services before July 18, which he believes is the soonest any price change could come into effect. He said he had received assurance that those already signed up for the year would have their membership honoured.