As a result of rising fuels bills the cost of using leisure centre services will increase by an average of 8.5 per cent in the new year.
The new prices, which will come in to effect from January 1st 2012, will see the cost of a swimming session increase by 30p from £3.70 to £4. Hiring of a badminton will increase from £9.50 to £10.30 and an aerobics session costing £4.20 will be £4.50 next year.
Soaring fuel costs are having a significant financial impact on the many services offered by Cheshire East Council, which has seen its fuel bills rise by 34 per cent for gas and 25 per cent for electricity in the past 12 months.
Despite the installation of automatic lighting controls, boiler controls and LED lights, which saved £12,000 at Wilmslow leisure centre, the increase is still being felt strongly in these services which are dependent on high energy usage.
Cheshire East Council is to absorb approximately two-thirds of these rising costs, with service users making up the final third.
Councillor Michael Jones, Cabinet member with responsibility for resources, said: "We can no longer sit back and watch our energy bills continue to rise without taking further action. We have made a lot of improvements in our leisure centres to make them more energy efficient and to reduce costs.
"However, the time has come to rethink how we can afford to keep running our leisure centres at a high level. Cheshire East Council will continue to pay the majority of this increase but we think it only reasonable that the service users make a contribution. These adjustments are sensible and fair."
Councillor Rod Menlove, Cabinet member with responsibility for environmental services, added: "I am sure many people have seen fuel bills rise in their own homes and can understand that this decision has not been made lightly.
"We can no longer absorb these sky-high fuel bills and this has had a significant impact on the cost of using leisure centre services. We have thought long and hard about how this cost can be spread.
"Cheshire East Council will pay the majority. The small increase for service users is necessary for us to continue to maintain and improve our leisure centres. Big reductions in the cost of using leisure services can still be made using the Options card or via an Everybody membership.
"We have made many improvements in leisure centres across Cheshire East so that they are fit for our residents to use them for years to come. Continued maintenance and necessary improvements cannot be realised without this pricing rethink."
Discounts of 20 per cent are available for people under the age of 16 and those over 60, whilst swimming for children under the age of three will remain free.
Leisure centre users can get a discount of 40% by using the Options card, which costs £5 a year, and the cost of an Everybody membership is unchanged. These are year-long memberships which can be paid for monthly or annually, with no joining fee, and result in big discounts for regular users.
Information about the Everybody membership and Options card can be found on the Cheshire East Council website www.cheshireeast.gov.uk.
Like many local authorities, Cheshire East Council faces the challenge of dealing with fuel costs and maintaining services. As a result, the cost of using leisure centres is to be adjusted.
Although leisure services are heavily subsidised and are not statutorily required, provision of such services is essential to the health and wellbeing of residents. Funding for these services will continue to be carefully monitored in the future.
Cheshire East Council is to absorb the majority of these rising costs – approximately two-thirds – with service users making up the final third.
The cost of using leisure centre services will increase by an average of 8.5 per cent. This will come into effect from January 1 2012.
Here are some examples of what this will mean for those using leisure services:
• A swimming session, costing £3.70p will be £4 – an increase of just 30p;
• Hiring a Badminton court at £9.50 will be £10.30; and
• An aqua-aerobics session, costing £4.20p will be £4.50p.
Discounts of 20 per cent are available for people under the age of 16 and those over 60. Swimming for children under the age of three will remain free.
However, there are ways for all leisure centre users to get significant discounts. The Options card gives users a discount of 40 per cent. An annual membership is just £5.
The cost of an Everybody membership is unchanged. These are year-long memberships which can be paid for monthly or annually (no joining fee) and result in big discounts for regular users.
Councillor Michael Jones, Cabinet member with responsibility for resources, said:
"We can no longer sit back and watch our energy bills continue to rise without taking further action. We have made a lot of improvements in our leisure centres to make them more energy efficient and to reduce costs.
"However, the time has come to rethink how we can afford to keep running our leisure centres at a high level. Cheshire East Council will continue to pay the majority of this increase but we think it only reasonable that the service users make a contribution. These adjustments are sensible and fair."
Councillor Rod Menlove, Cabinet member with responsibility for environmental services, added: "I am sure many people have seen fuel bills rise in their own homes and can understand that this decision has not been made lightly.
"We can no longer absorb these sky-high fuel bills and this has had a significant impact on the cost of using leisure centre services. We have thought long and hard about how this cost can be spread.
"Cheshire East Council will pay the majority. The small increase for service users is necessary for us to continue to maintain and improve our leisure centres. Big reductions in the cost of using leisure services can still be made using the Options card or via an Everybody membership.
"We have made many improvements in leisure centres across Cheshire East so that they are fit for our residents to use them for years to come. Continued maintenance and necessary improvements cannot be realised without this pricing rethink."
Discounts of 20 per cent are available for people under the age of 16 and those over 60 whilst swimming for children under the age of three will remain free.
Leisure centre users can get a discount of 40% by using the Options card which costs £5 a year.
The cost of an Everybody membership is unchanged. These are year-long memberships which can be paid for monthly or annually (no joining fee) and result in big discounts for regular users.
Information about the Everybody membership and Options card can be found on the Cheshire East Council website www.cheshireeast.gov.uk
