Councillor fuming over free access to Flash for council staff

Just a day after we highlighted the current high charges for using The Flash swimming pool, a Welshpool County Councillor is fuming after finding out that the venue's facilities are being offered to any Powys County Council (PCC) employee for free during March.

MyWelshpool’s co-founder raised the issue of pricing at the Flash, which is run by Freedom Leisure on behalf of PCC, after paying £16.60 for an hour’s swim with his two young children, but it appears that anyone on the county council pay roll, including teachers, can use the facility for free up to seven times this month.

This has led to Cllr Graham Breeze, who represents Welshpool Llanerchyddol Ward, firing off a question to Council Leader, Cllr James Gibson-Watt, which he will need to respond to at a future council meeting.

“I am asking if he thinks it is appropriate that Powys County Council staff should benefit from a seven-day free pass to use facilities which residents from all across the county are struggling to afford?” said Cllr Breeze.

“I think it to be unacceptable that a local authority should take up such an offer for staff at a time when it is known that negotiations are ongoing between the authority and Freedom Leisure over future contracts.

“Residents in my Welshpool Llanerchyddol Ward are complaining to me about the rising costs at the Flash Leisure Centre and are openly struggling with spiralling energy and shopping costs.

“It simply can’t be right that a local authority is accepting free seven-day use of the leisure facilities from a contracted supplier for staff members to benefit from.

“I am calling on Cllr James Gibson-Watt, Leader of PCC & Cllr David Selby, Portfolio Holder For A More Prosperous Powys to condemn this arrangement and assure the residents of Powys that the practice of accepting free use of facilities will cease immediately.”

Cllr Breeze’s question will be read out at a future meeting, with the prepared response also delivered.

We will update this story with the response once known.

Meanwhile, also yesterday, Cllr Gibson-Watt called on local MP Craig Williams to pressure his Conservative colleague, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, to include support for leisure centres in his Spring Budget tomorrow (Wednesday) to help it through the energy price crisis after Freedom Leisure revealed their energy costs had risen from £8m to £20m.

Some local leisure centres were going to close for winter, but a backlash forced a u-turn with Freedom Leisure conceding that it would also need to reduce its swimming pool water temperatures slightly to reduce running costs.

Fees have also gone up, leading to yesterday’s story highlighting the sort of fees families are now having to pay for a swim.