LEISURE bosses have responded to hygiene issues at Bracknell Leisure Centre after one concerned resident said bosses were “not listening” to “severe health and safety issues” going on at the site.
Robin Hunter, who is a regular user of the centre, complained to the News of a series of cleanliness issues at the site including claims of growing mould, urination stains, body hair and more problems not being attended to (photos from July).
In August, Mr Hunter told the News worries were growing on social media: “The complaints are now getting extremely serious and it’s clear the Leisure Centre management is not listening to customers or responding to online concerns and complaints.
“Urgent action by all parties including Health and Safety at Bracknell Council is now needed.”
The leisure centre user also alleged air-conditioning had not been working for three weeks, but a spokesperson for Everyone Active said just one of nine units was out of order for 72 hours.
Concerns were raised about gym equipment not being cleaned and pools not being filtered correctly, yet leisure chiefs told the News Everyone Active works with a specialist company to conduct hygiene tests at their pools every month.
These issues come as council bosses are set to review Everyone Active’s progress 18 months after it took over the running of Bracknell Leisure Centre, Coral Reef and Downshire Golf Complex.
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A survey by Everyone Active, the leisure group which runs Bracknell Leisure Centre, Coral Reef and Downshire Golf Complex, revealed four in five people are ‘satisfied’ with the state of the facilities.
Two in five leisure centre users would be ‘highly likely’ to recommend Bracknell’s leisure centres to a friend.
A £2.8 million refurbishment of Bracknell Leisure Centre by Everyone Active caused disruption to the site as services remained open during the works.
This initially led to a surge in the number of complaints from users, before they dropped by December 2018.
Responding to Mr Hunter’s complaints, Mark Tennant, contract manager at Everyone Active, said: “We recognise there have previously been occasions when our usual high standards have not been met and have since taken action to rectify this.
“We have reviewed our cleaning practices and policies, resulting in all areas of Bracknell Leisure Centre now meeting the high levels of cleanliness we would expect.
“I would like to assure customers that we take the quality of our leisure centre environment very seriously.
“We are subject to monthly, independent water checks, which have always confirmed the exemplary quality of our water.”
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A report produced for councillors highlights the measures made by Everyone Active chiefs in the past year-and-a-half, including how staff have reacted to customer complaints.
For example, one Coral Reef user posted on Facebook in March 2018, claiming the changing rooms and toilets were dirty, queues were long and the staff were “rude”.
However, five months later in August 2018, another user commended the site for being “super-organised” at the entrance following a switch to an online booking system, praising the cleanliness of the area and pointing out the friendliness of the staff.
Councillors will discuss Everyone Active’s progress at a meeting on Tuesday, September 10.
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