Better Leisure, which has more than 250 centres in the UK, has announced that it will have to reduce opening hours this Winter due to rising energy costs.
The firm said its energy bills have tripled since 2019.
According to the BBC:
The charitable social enterprise said it was not sustainable after the “recent struggles” of the pandemic.
Parent company GLL said the “extraordinary” programme would affect more than 200 of its centres.
The changes, which begin in December and run until Easter, will vary for each centre and are “designed to minimise disruption and to avoid changes for schools and swimming lessons”, the company said.
“In practice, some centres will open an hour later or close one hour earlier on some days,” it added.
“This will enable us to turn off lighting, plant and equipment at the time of maximum energy use, when it is coldest and darkest. This is also when we are least busy.”
GLL said its energy costs were now more than three times what they were pre-pandemic and had increased to 25% of total costs.
“Heating a public swimming pool complex now costs over £300,000, up from under £100,000,” it said.
Swim England has also warned that more than 100 pools are under threat of closure or reduced hours due to the energy crisis.
It made its “dire forecast” at the start of November and said without government help “large numbers of public sector leisure facilities are unlikely to make it through to next spring.”
Reduced opening times means reduced hours for several thousand employees too. Reduced hours means a reduction in pay.
it feels like all of the joy is being sucked out of life.
But by whom? And on behalf of whom?
The energy crisis comes down to choice. You either choose to have a crisis or you choose self-sufficiency.
Reopen the the pits and build more coal powered stations.
Crisis over.
