Fusion leisure centres contract not renewed by Southwark

[JohnL]

or so it seems

http://www.southwarknews.co.uk/news/7819-2/

Will "Sport and Leisure Management Ltd" be any better.

[BrandNewGuy]

http://www.everyoneactive.com/about-us/

"Sports and Leisure Management (SLM Ltd.) was established in 1987 and is the longest established leisure contractor in the UK.

SLM Ltd?s consumer brand is Everyone Active, which is the name that can be seen at 117 leisure and cultural facilities across the UK. We successfully manage these facilities in partnership with 36 different local authorities.

Our centres stretch from the north in Sunderland to Mid Suffolk in the east, Fareham in the south and Plymouth in the south west.

Our brand, mission and values

We?re called Everyone Active for a reason ? we have built a strong reputation for delivering well-managed leisure facilities, which have successfully proven to encourage everyone to be more active.

Whether it?s the most state-of-the-art gym equipment, sports facilities, ASA accredited swim programmes or fun activities for children; we have something for the entire community to enjoy.

We?re enthusiastic about being active and staying healthy and we want you to be too. We?ve made it our mission to encourage more people to participate in 30 minutes of moderate physical activity, five times a week, either in-centre or online."

[jacks09]

Curious to know in reality what this means?

I hope the council built into the tender process some promise of investment into the centres (ongoing), a hold on membership prices, and some fairly stringent KPI's....

[danielson00]

Hope they introduce swim or gym only memberships, so you are not paying for something you don't use!

[drewd]

If you can clean the changing rooms regularly and maintain the gym equipment and lockers, that would be super-great!

[cella]

As mentioned many times before on here there is nothing wrong with the range of activities on offer, quite the opposite. It's just the basic management of the centre which has always been a bit hit & miss - equipment not working when there is a maintenance contract in operation, phones not answered, classes cancelled on the day, proper cleaning of pool & gym facilities etc etc. As importantly, management available at the centre to deal with issues immediately before they become major. Fusion did not deliver to a reasonable level so hopefully the new contract, which appears to be for 7 years, will have built in targets.

[peckham_ryu]

Thank you for sharing the news. I've been thinking about which gym to switch to, so will avoid the municipal option while they're going through this change. Best of luck to the new company, and to all the staff when they get their new bosses and new polo shirts.

[jim_the_chin]

Tendering and recontracting is all about driving down costs, usually at the expense of quality. Don't get your hopes up.

[Steviedulwich]

about time, their appalling mismanagement of ED leisure centre is so sad, A great facility allowed to run down.

Broken equipment, non functioning air con, dirty toilets...the list is endless. I changed some time ago to use the gym at Crystal palace which is run by another organisation....since Ive been there not ONE bit of equipment out of action.

enough said.

[NewWave]

As someone who is considering getting a membership at ED pools does anyone have any idea how this would impact?

I live in Forest Hill where the pool is also run by fusion (as are all Lewisham pools) but the pool is so filthy and centre generally so dirty and badly run I've started to attend the East Dulwich pools-which believe me-are like a Luxury health club by comparison (picture used nappies and urine in changing cubicle, and toilets poolside so filthy that you retch as you use them-a Favela smells better..I kid you not!..and in fact they are so smelly that the stink reaches the pool)

Part of my reasoning in joining is also that at least then I could try other fusion gyms and pools for free as at present I spend ?8.50 every visit to ED and I've been aiming for twice a week minimum.

Would the new contract therefore mean that I would be limited to using pools in Southwark?

Any idea?

And finally-if you think this centre is bad go to Forest Hill and you'll realise what bad really looks and smells like!

[AGW3]

I don't want to be the partypooper but I think the new company will be about running the place as cheaply as possible. I could be wrong though.

[rabbitears]

Why do you think that?

[Tomemery13]

I work out at East Dulwich gym about four or five times a week. The range of equipment is pretty good and it's a nice big space (compared to many other London gyms), but it's the lack of attention to detail that has let it down:

Erratic air con - it's like a greenhouse in there sometimes

The turnstiles have never worked properly

The water coolers are poorly maintained

No shower gel in the showers

Equipment out of use for longer than needed

If Fusion could have got on top of these things it would have made all the difference (to me, anyway)

[NewWave]

Ive never known shower gel in any of the fusion gyms..in fact in any council gym.

[drewd]

New Wave, Your description of Lewisham pools totally fits the East Dulwich pool. The wet side changing room stinks.

[bzgeo]

Hmm lets see if the new guys will be able to clean the gym and fix broken stuff! how hard can it be?

[NewWave]

They must be better than Fusion...I'm appalled at how they can let brand new buildings and resources paid for by our council tax deterioate so badly due to mis-management.

It saddens me.

[spider69]

Why not ask the question.

Why did Southwark not monitor the situation?

Inexperience Southwark staff perhaps.

[edhistory]

Southwark Council is a "legal fiction" That doesn't and can't do anything.

Correct questions:

What is the name of the Southwark contract manager for the Fusion Contract?

Who will be the contract manager for the new contract?

John K

[peckham_ryu]

edhistory Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Correct questions:

>

> What is the name of the Southwark contract manager

> for the Fusion Contract?

>

> Who will be the contract manager for the new

> contract?

I wouldn't expect the council to put their A-team contract managers on a ?1.5m per year leisure centre management contract. They have limited resources so social care contracts should take priority, and I'm sure they do. If I were the council, I'd select a management company with the very best capability to attract fee-paying punters to make the leisure centres as self-sufficient as possible. I expect that's exactly what they have tried to do.

[edhistory]

Who are the Southwark Council "A-team contract managers"?

Someone has to contract manage a "management company".

John K

[spider69]

peckham_ryu Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> edhistory Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Correct questions:

> >

> > What is the name of the Southwark contract

> manager

> > for the Fusion Contract?

> >

> > Who will be the contract manager for the new

> > contract?

>

> I wouldn't expect the council to put their A-team

> contract managers on a ?1.5m per year leisure

> centre management contract. They have limited

> resources so social care contracts should take

> priority, and I'm sure they do. If I were the

> council, I'd select a management company with the

> very best capability to attract fee-paying punters

> to make the leisure centres as self-sufficient as

> possible. I expect that's exactly what they have

> tried to do.

I wouldn't expect the council to put their A-team contract managers on a ?1.5m per year leisure centre management contract.

Explains why so much is wasted

[edhistory]

Who are the "A-team contract managers"?

John K

[pilsbury]

My family membership runs out at the end of this month (on monday in fact) - i've been told by the gym that they won't do any further annual memberships until april when the "everyone active" are in charge. somewhat ridiculously they are now expecting me to pay just for march DD, which will cost me over ?100!! Or else I don't pay and I lose my kids' places in swim school... crazy! I am waiting for manager to call me back, but wondered if anyone else had this issue?

[missbabs]

I decided to change my swim/gym membership to outside the borough with Better a few years back because I was so appalled by the way ED and Camberwell pools were maintained - and just after the expense of the refurbs.

Better knows how to run gyms and pools. I hope it gets the Southwark contract