Leisure centre ensures clients do not miss out due to bank holidays

A leisure centre is changing its policy to ensure customers do not miss out if a regular class they have paid for falls on a bank holiday.

Newark Sports and Fitness Centre is closed on bank holidays, which prompted a complaint from a mother whose children missed their usual Monday swimming lesson.

A new policy is in place that will allow customers to book for a class on another day, if the centre is closed because of a bank holiday.

The mother wrote to Mr Roger Blaney, leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, because she felt families were missing out financially when lessons were cancelled.

She said it was unfair families were not being recompensed for lessons their children were missing, including those that fell on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, which were both on Mondays.

The customer, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: “I have two children who go to the leisure centre for swimming lessons. They don’t go there for anything else.

“The day the lessons fall on varies depending on which group they are in and changes when they move up.

“It just so happens that both of my children have lessons on a Monday and it happens to be the case that Christmas Day and New Year’s Day both fell on a Monday.”

The customer said she paid £20 a month for each child to have swimming lessons.

She said the fact the council charged the same amount without offering any form of compensation, another lesson or activity, was unethical.

“Most working families can’t even afford swimming lessons for their children,” she said.

“Most other families probably wouldn’t do anything about it and aren’t bothered about making a complaint.

“In the past, they gave the parents the option of either changing the dates [of their lessons], or for extra lessons.

“This year, for some reason, they just said we lost the lessons because they were not open.

“I just felt it was not right. So many other families in Newark have three or four children who could be affected by this.”

In time for the Easter bank holiday

Newark Sports and Fitness Centre, on Bowbridge Road, is run, on behalf of the district council, by Active4Today — an arm's-length management organisation.

Active4Today is also responsible for Southwell, Dukeries and Blidworth leisure centres.

Mr Andy Carolan, managing director of Active4Today, said in a letter to the mother that customers affected by bank holiday cancellations would in future have the option to book an alternative swimming lesson in the same week.

He said: “In view of your comments and after discussion with the management team of the membership schemes, I feel that an alternative option may need to be re-introduced for the customers who are disadvantaged more if the bank holiday Mondays affect their children’s activities.

“This offer would be that those children who have classes that fall on a bank holiday will have the option to book into an alternative class during that week, in order that they can continue to participate in the activity they have chosen.”

Mr Carolan said the new system would be introduced in time for the Easter bank holiday.

He said that in addition to the new offer, extra lessons would be offered to those pupils who missed out on lessons on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

Mr Carolan said all fees and charges were calculated on an annual basis rather than a per session basis and the pricing schedule reflected the non-availability for customers as a result of bank holidays.

He said previously, additional classes were scheduled on other weekdays for those customers missing out on their regular Monday classes, however, these were poorly attended and were cancelled two years ago.