lyons2

Latest news Harris Sports partnership team are prepared to offer 20% reduction for Gym users who are pensioners or unwaged, that means ?4 per session compared to the original ?5 per session. Still ?1.50 more than, Fusion, East Dulwich Road. Good Business sense!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The sports centre was opened as part of Waverley Girls School, long before Harris took over. And yes the local community were encouraged to share the facilities for a reasonable price. Following numerous emails and letters, I now understand that the Sport Partnership@Harris Girls? Academy East Dulwich, staff (employed by the school) will open the sports centre on Tuesday & Friday evenings from 4.30pm to 10pm, and Saturdays 9.30am -5pm. If you use the fitness gym it will cost ?5, whereas Fusion East Dulwich charge ?2.50 for low income or senior citizens. Sport Partnership@Harris Girls? Academy East Dulwich, is not so far, offering any reductions. Also in the Governments spending review, the School Sports Partnership funding for schools is being cut so what happens when they go. Again very short sighted on Lord Harris part.

Last few days to really make you feeling felt and to speak out about Lord Harris closing faculties to local people. Maybe he has a short memory but he started his carpet business in Peckham, maybe you have purchased a carpet or flooring from him in the past.

I think you can see that lack of management; marketing and real commitment to share great facilities that Southwark paid for will go. Please write to your local Councillors or to the Head Teacher Jane Fletcher complaining, and maybe just maybe they will reconsider their actions

The swimming was closed due to lack of maintenance; it has now gone and has been built over with a new building for the school. Swimming pools are extremely expensive to run, but with a little enterprise skill, and commitment the whole thing could have remained a very valuable facility for the whole community. Many dual use sports facilities operate during the school day alongside school use. Even better if the Head Teacher and of course Lord Harris, really want to make a statement for the local community by sharing and giving something back to us all.

Yes I agree, but just to allow this to happen without taking Lord Harris and his cronies to task is not acceptable. Harris East Dulwich Girls School has two specialism?s Sports and Enterprise. It does not take a genius to consider using this as a real case study and turning a dwindling business into a thriving one. Or as I suspect the Head Teacher does not want to share her facilities with the community, something she inherited and that was working fine and providing for the needs in the community, and as you say you have to travel to London Borough of Bromley (Crystal palace) to find suitable alternatives, Shame on you Lord Harris and Southwark Council for not stepping in.

The difficulties with the boys school is that the sports facilities are not accessible without going through the main school, whereas in the girls school the sports centre is a standalone building that does not mixed with the main school. Local people need to complain about this unfair proposal and at the least Harris needs to come up with an alternative for the current users. Who have supported the Sports Centre, week in week out.

One who think that the sensible thing to do would be to allow the Leisure Professionals run the contract for you and use the Sports centre as a cash cow for the school. Fusion I assume where not allowed the opportunity to retender for the contract, but there are many more Leisure providers, GLL (Greenwich Leisure Limited) are by far the biggest and who have invested in the centre. So far as nobody from The Harris Federation has replied to me, I can only assume that the local community will no longer has assess, and by the way the staff are all being sacked too.

On 9th November Lord Harris will pull the plug on the Community Sports Centre, at Harris East Dulwich Girls Academy, Homestall Road, East Dulwich. The School, that has specialist status (Sports & Enterprise), has failed to generate business, after taking over management from Fusion - The leisure provider for Southwark Council, according to sources. Although an article has been published in Tuesday?s edition of the South London Press, however I fear that current users will have to find another facility. The Sports Centre was build with Council tax payers? money, when the school was under Southwark?s control; Waverley school opened the facility to the local community and worked in partnership with Fusion ? Southwark?s leisure provider. The Sports Centre was opened in 2005, and Fusions? contract was terminated on 31st December 2009. Since Harris has taken over the management for the Sports Centre there has been little, if no revenue expenditure to promote these excellent facilities. Which consist of a Dance studio, Badminton courts, fitness gym and outdoor (floodlit) soccer / tennis / Netball. At a time when child obesity, health of the nation, are real issues, why deprive the local community of a very needy facility. Maybe Lord Harris, a conservative Life Peer has not understood David Cameron?s "Big Society" concept, or has he? If you feel as I do, please contact [email protected] tell her your concerns too.