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A decision by the Tory-LibDem Coalition in
control of the council to once again welcome in the New Year with a
hike in leisure centre charges has been slammed by Leeds Labour
Group leader Cllr Keith Wakefield.
As part of the new charges which came into
operation on the 1st January, a vast number of popular
leisure activities have now fallen victim to above inflation price
rises.
These include:
£3.40 for an adult swim (standard price without
discount cards) from £3.20 last year.
Adult Badminton, which has risen from £9.40 to
£9.80.
Adult Squash has gone up from £6.90 to
£7.20.
Martial Arts which has increased from £4.20 to
£4.60.
Outdoor 5-a-side from £37.80 last year to
£40.00.
Cllr Wakefield, in hitting out at the move, has
once again called into question the Coalition’s commitment to its
‘Narrowing the Gap’ agenda, given their enthusiasm to once again
increase charges to use the city’s leisure centre
facilities.
Councillor Keith Wakefield (Leader of
Leeds Labour Group) said: “Once again the people
of Leeds have received from the Tory-LibDem Coalition the unwanted
New Years present of yet more above inflation hikes in the cost of
some our most popular leisure activities at our sports
centres. “If the Coalition are
really interested in ‘Narrowing the Gap’ in our city and tackling
massive issues such as child obesity then significantly increasing
the prices at our leisure centres is not a way in which we can
begin to make significant progress in these areas.
“In
fact many people who use our sports centres to keep fit, have fun
and meet up with friends, may now be faced with
the massive blow of now not being able to afford it anymore, which
is nothing short of disastrous.”
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Labour leader slams unwanted New Year present to leisure
centreusers
