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Lambeth Council bringing Leisure Service/ Brixton Rec Management In-house

I'm going complain about the loss of the over 60s concessions, too, unless it turns out to be a mistake.

Who would I complain to? One of my local councillors or do they have someone responsible for leisure?

Am annoyed that they are doing this in the first place, and also because there was no advance warning or justificcation.
Is Lambeth really expecting to get more income from this? Not from me for sure, as I am cutting down swimming even with the current pricing.
And the pools seem to be less busy than they were before the pandemic, so they can't really be worried about all those over 60s swimmers cloggging up the pools & putting off more desirable monthly membership people

The Cabinet member responsible for the Leisure centres is Cllr Donatus


Yes do email. If only to try to get answer if this change to 66plus is correct.
 
I got this response from officers to the email I sent about the planning guidelines for the Vauxhall leisure centre.

See end of Tricky Skills article or my previous posts here for more details


Email reply to me is:

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. The officers’ understanding is that GLL have a long lease on the facility and the arrangements originally made with GLL to provide concessions when the centre opened were not consistent with it being a Council leisure centre. However, officers will seek to raise this matter with Planning colleagues. Officers were not aware of the Community Use Agreement and are now looking into this as well.

I don't understand this. The section 106 planning agreement and the Community Use is hardly a secret. It's on the Lambeth planning website.
 
I got this response from officers to the email I sent about the planning guidelines for the Vauxhall leisure centre.

See end of Tricky Skills article or my previous posts here for more details


Email reply to me is:



I don't understand this. The section 106 planning agreement and the Community Use is hardly a secret. It's on the Lambeth planning website.
Vauxhall Leisure Centre had a Lambeth logo on it alongside the Better one!
 
Vauxhall Leisure Centre had a Lambeth logo on it alongside the Better one!
My local Councillors at the time (OH HAI JACKO and JANE) were all over this. The good news was that Lambeth Council had opened a new leisure centre. They had done nothing of the sort. They stuck a badge on the front of a private facility.
 
I was in the gym in Clapham leisure centre tonight. It was strangely quiet. Maybe only a third of the people that I would normally expect on a weekday evening.

I wonder if the change from Better to AL has had an impact.

What's funny is that they have replaced all the signs with new ones with an AL logo at the bottom. Nonsense signs like the type of radio they will play at various times of the day etc.
 
A friend told me that the water and changing room temperature issues had been sorted in Brixton Rec. Is this a permanent thing?
 
A friend told me that the water and changing room temperature issues had been sorted in Brixton Rec. Is this a permanent thing?

No.

Partner went swimming a couple of days ago and it was cold. Today it was ok.

Womens showers fluctuate between to hot and ok.

Replacing the boiler has not sorted out issues of lack of long term planned maintenance.

The changing room temperature has improved as outside weather has improved.

There is no heating in the changing rooms as it broke down years ago.

Ventilation and heating are linked.

The ventilation system is years past its useful life.

Heating system for changing rooms failed years back.

BRUG sent email to leaders office about this a while back.

We were promised that this would be sorted out.

Council have spent one and half million on new playzone in old bowling green out of money for refurbishment of Rec plant.

That is decision of officers without consultation with user groups.

Imo putting in basics like heated changing rooms should have come first.

The ventilation and heating system dates back to when the Rec was first built. Some replacements were made. But whole system , according to Council commissioned surveyor reports needs replacing.

Latest issue is the air conditioning for the gym. Which is simply not working properly.
 
I've heard that raising the senior concession from 60 to 66 is not a mistake on the app.

The Council have brought this in with no consultation or warning.

It was not mentioned at the public meeting.

I'm not at all happy with this.

Imo it goes against the Council rationale for bringing back services in House.

That this would enable the Council to further it's Active Lambeth policy of encouraging people to exercise for health benefits.
 
I was in the gym in Clapham leisure centre tonight. It was strangely quiet. Maybe only a third of the people that I would normally expect on a weekday evening.

I wonder if the change from Better to AL has had an impact.

What's funny is that they have replaced all the signs with new ones with an AL logo at the bottom. Nonsense signs like the type of radio they will play at various times of the day etc.
it makes sense that Better would want to remove their branding tbh
 
Looking up something else and saw this.

Lambeth publicising the Vauxhall Leisure centre as belonging to them.



. Our brand new state-of-the-art leisure centre boasts a 25m swimming pool, 100 station gym, two fitness studios plus dedicated group cycle studio, poolside sauna and steam rooms and offers a range of affordable memberships for everyone.

 
Repairs are underway at West Norwood leisure centre but reopening of the swimming pool has now been pushed back to the end of August.:(
 
Repairs are underway at West Norwood leisure centre but reopening of the swimming pool has now been pushed back to the end of August.:(

The centre was only opened in 2014. So wonder why such extensive repairs are needed now.

See its a PFI scheme - I thought PFI schemes had been discredited years ago as way of doing developments.
 
Recent meeting with Active Lambeth officers and got convoluted explanation why sauna has been removed from some of the concessionary memberships.

Lambeth have agreed , after complaints from users, that "legacy" memberships ( that is those who had Better memberships ) would retain use of sauna under Active Lambeth. But anyone joining now would have the new sauna less membership.

The justification for this is , according to Council , that Better should never have given sauna use in some of its memberships. That this was an error.

I personally don't believe this. If Better had been giving people sauna included in memberships when they shouldn't why did they not tell Better to alter this at the time?

I did ask why , for example. sauna had been removed from the disability concessionary membership, was it cost? And got the same answer. That it was Betters fault.

The thing about constructing this narrative is that Better are no longer around to say there side of it.

Did notice that a lot of Active Lambeth staff are ex Better and they went along with the narrative that Lambeth have constructed.

I'm not surprised.

This is how Lambeth operates. Instead of just saying they are removing a part of a membership they make up a story that is hard to argue with.
 
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On cleaning. A lot of the staff stayed with Better. At moment Lambeth have had to fall back on using agency staff. According to them. They aim to hire staff inhouse in long term.
 
The centre was only opened in 2014. So wonder why such extensive repairs are needed now.

See its a PFI scheme - I thought PFI schemes had been discredited years ago as way of doing developments.
It seems that water was able to get into the roof structure of the single storey leisure centre areas. I think the developers are threatening legal action against design and construction team.

Lambeth keep calling it a PFI but the West Norwood building, which contains GP and other health facilities on upper floors, was procured through "Building Better Health" - a LIFTCo (Local Improvement Finance Company) that has built several other health centres in Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham. I think ownership is still 60% private 40% public.

The NHS stake in all the LIFTCos is now managed by an NHS owned company Community Health Partnerships.
"PPP" (Public Private Partnership) would be the more accurate term.
 
My "Pay and Play" Lambeth membership ran out last week. Did not get a reminder. When I tried to buy the Lambeth 60 plus leisure card the app told me I had to upload evidence.

During my time with Better I bought a Lambeth Leisure Card every year to get the discounts on swimming. When I hit 60 I automatically got the discount. They never asked me for extra proof.

I uploaded my evidence last week. Got email saying it would take five working days to clear. Heard nothing.

Trying today as its the fifth day to buy a new one on the App

It keeps saying go "online" to finish transaction. I am fucking online, I'm on the rubbish App.

Going to have to go to the ever helpful lady at Rec reception tomorrow to try and sort of fucking Lambeth make life difficult transition out.
 
I've given up on Lambeth honouring the old Pay and Play memberships for Vauxhall. An off peak discounted swim at Vauxhall is still showing £5.15 for me. So much for Lambeth claiming that they built a new leisure centre at Vauxhall. They did nothing of the sort.
 
Ive went on the Active Lambeth website and logged ( rather than using the App) to see if I could buy my senior pay and play on that.

Having gone through it and been told again I have to go "online" to update my details. It will not let me buy a new pay and play membership I went and finally found the evidence of age is still "pending".

Its been over five days now.
 
I went to ask at the Rec why my senior pay and play was still pending.

Shrug of shoulders and why don't you upload evidence of entitlement again.

I've done that so will see what happens.

TBF this is shit. I used to do all this in reception at Rec.

One can no longer do these transactions and now must do them online

At recent meeting users group asked when the new Active Lambeth will bring back ability to pay by cash at reception. As was the case pre COVID.

Told by officers that move to cashless online was a decision that has been made That is cut out dealing with cash

When?

If it was then no consultation with users was done

Previously the Cllr in charge Cllr Donatus gas said he was concerned about cashless as it discriminates against less well off and young people.

Which user group agreed with

User group has asked for clarification on this
 
My over 60 got approved.

Im not sure what happened.

On weekend I re uploaded my proof of age using the App rather than doing it on the browser.

Got reply next day.

The only difference I could see is that I used the App. Rather than logging into my membership using the webpage.
 
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