From This is Wiltshire,
available at http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/wiltshire/archive/2002/11/07/ames_news4ZM.html
Thursday 07 November 2002
Swimming pool 'is a shambles'
SWIMMERS at Salisbury's modern
new pool are the victims of poor service and bad management. That is
the view of pool-users, who say they have had to put up with dirty
facilities and cold showers too often since the gala opening ceremony just
three months ago.
Grubby floors left unwashed for hours, waste-water filters clogged with hair
and paper, unreliable hot-water supplies and broken-down thermostats have
tested swimmers' loyalty to the limit. Early morning swimmers, families,
swimming club members, the over-50s, schoolchildren and other users have
been victims of breakdowns in equipment and communication since the
long-awaited facility finally opened its doors to the public on Monday, July
29.
The £6m pool, with its outstanding features for families, easy-access
viewing area, hot spa tubs and flume, has attracted thousands of customers.
Among them is Debbie Rock, who swims three times a week before going
to her job as headteacher's PA at Westwood St Thomas's School. Mrs
Rock, who lives at Bishopdown Farm, said: "We had to put up with so
much for so long at the old pool that it really is a disappointment to see
standards at the new pool drop so low so quickly. "It just isn't
acceptable to have to tread on filthy floors and to be left unable to shower
properly before going to work."
Jennie Bycroft, manager of Five Rivers leisure centre and pool, said:
"I'm afraid the whole situation has been an absolute shambles and I am
as sorry as everyone else about all the problems. "We are doing
our best to address every issue. Steps we have taken in the past few
days should see a return to the highest possible standards of cleanliness
and hygiene. There were problems arising only on one member of staff's
shift and that person left yesterday. We have also had a number of
staff vacancies, which I'm hoping will be filled by the middle of this
month. In the meantime, contract cleaners will be used." ...
From This is Wiltshire http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/wiltshire/archive/2004/03/29/ames_news37ZM.html
29 March 2004 Council to run
leisure centre
Users of Salisbury's Five Rivers leisure centre should find it is cleaner
and problems are resolved quicker, with Salisbury district council taking it
over this week. Bosses are promising the swimming pool, gym and sports halls
will be better run and customers will notice some improvement immediately.
The handover marks the end of an agreement with Leisure Connection, which
has run sports facilities in the city for more than ten years.
...Detailed discussions about staffing levels, training and operating
procedures are well under way and, although some changes will take several
months, others will be immediate.
"The first thing we are going to do is give the whole place a good
clean," said new general manager Rick Weston. "We want users to
notice the difference as soon as the doors open." ...
Staffing levels are also being considered as part of the shake up.
"We certainly hope to get back to a full complement of staff,"
said Mr Weston.
"But everyone I have spoken to is very pleased they will be working for
the council." ...
From This is Wiltshire, available at http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/wiltshire/archive/2003/08/14/ames_news3ZM.html
Thursday 14 August 2003
Pool forced to close over hottest weekend
Salisbury people desperate for a quick dip to
cool off during the hottest weekend on record found themselves out of luck
after a technical fault closed down the city's swimming pool. Bathers turned
up at the Five Rivers leisure centre, only to find the main pool closed and
temperatures of a different kind reached boiling point.
One member of Salisbury swimming club, Carol Vaughan, of Queens Road,
Salisbury, said she was "extremely disappointed" that, during the
hottest days of the year, the pool had been closed. "I am a regular
swimmer and was looking forward to a cooling swim," she said. "I
went on Monday afternoon but found it was still closed - but the signs
indicating this were only inside the centre, nothing outside to tell
people," she added. " There were a few children using the
smaller pool but obviously not as many as usual because of the lack of
families, due to the main pool being closed," she said.
Another woman, who did not want to be named, said it was disgusting that,
during such sizzling temperatures, people in Salisbury could not use a
swimming pool, and that it was still out of action after three days.
The £6m pool has suffered a number of setbacks since it opened last summer,
including the breakdown of equipment used to monitor chemicals in the water
last November, which led to the closure of three pools. Closure at the
weekend was the result of a faulty chlorine probe, which went out of action on
Friday and had to be replaced over the weekend.
Nigel Mansfield, contract manager at Five Rivers leisure centre, said:
"The chlorine probe is meant to monitor the chlorine levels in the pool
and it was not working. The chlorine levels got completely out of balance
and, due to the size of the pool, it takes some time to get the levels back in
line," he added. "We are as disappointed as our customers. It
was very unfortunate but hopefully we shall have no further problems for the
rest of the summer," he said.
The pool was open for swimmers on Tuesday morning.From This is Wiltshire,
available at http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/wiltshire/archive/2003/09/10/salis_news8ZM.html
Wednesday 10 September 2003 Swimmers
are turned away again
It never rains but it pours with problems at
the Five Rivers Leisure Centre in Salisbury.
Having recently recovered from a technical problem, staff at the swimming pool
were forced to turn swimmers away yet again at the weekend.
This time, the disruption could not be blamed on the unexpected malfunction of
a piece of pool equipment, it was the result of a timetable change which pool
managers had neglected to tell users.
Disappointed swimmers arrived on Sunday for an early evening swim only to find
the session from 6pm to 7.30pm had been cancelled out of the blue.
Customer forum swimming pool representative, Councillor Simon Howarth, said:
"I was disappointed to find on arrival that the front desk staff did not
know about the changes, nor for that matter did the centre manager, and the
timetables still being offered to the public showed the now non-existent
session.
"It is not fair on pool users to be messed around in this way.
"Changes to arrangements should be advertised before they come into
effect.
"Not only were the changes not advertised in any way, but there seems to
have been a complete lack of communication between leisure centre
managers," he said.
Contract manager of the Five Rivers Leisure Centre, Nigel Mansfield, admitted
that swimmers should have been alerted to changes to the timetable before they
were made.
He said: "With hindsight we could have run the old timetable for another
week.
"In future, when we say facilities will be open they will be open,"
he added.
The Sunday evening timetable has been changed in agreement with the council
and the swimming club, to give club members longer in the pool.
Mr Mansfield, said the change was the first of many to the swimming programme,
which will be reviewed again in three to four months time.
9.10.03 http://www.thisiswiltshire.co.uk/wiltshire/archive/2003/10/09/ames_news48ZM.html
Anger as swim teacher is pushed out
DISAPPOINTED parents and children are campaigning to save the career of a swimming instructor who has been teaching Salisbury's water babies for more than a quarter-of-a-century.
Jackie Atwell, who has taught generations of youngsters to swim, has been given notice to quit Five Rivers pool by Christmas to make way for council-approved tutors.
Leisure Connection - the private company that runs the pool on behalf of the council - wants to run its own swimming courses and is refusing to rent the pool to `outsiders' like Mrs Atwell.
But pupils who say Mrs Atwell is simply too special to lose have sworn to fight the decision and are circulating a petition to keep their beloved teacher.
Among Mrs Atwell's pupils are Lucy and Tom Robinson, of Alderbury. Eleven-
year-old Lucy achieved her 1,000m gold award under Mrs Atwell's tuition and now her little brother Tom (seven) is going from strength to strength.
Their mother, Tracy Robinson, said: "After 27 years, Jackie deserves better than for it to end like this.
She is just great. She has got lots of patience and if there are any problems she is so easy to talk to.
All the children are very fond of her, too - I am sure Tom will miss her." Mrs Robinson added: "If she is good at what she does - and she obviously is, why does she have to go?"
Mrs Atwell, who lives in Fordingbridge, was the longest-serving worker at the old College Street pool, teaching parties of pupils from virtually every school in the district and hiring the pool to run her own private classes.
During her career, she has watched countless pupils grow up. Several have even become parents and brought their own babies back to her to be taught to swim.
But now the former PE teacher has been told that her presence contravenes company policy and it is time to hand the swimming instructor's role to a Leisure Connection employee.
She said: "I don't want to retire yet and I don't think the parents and children want me to either.
I take a lot of trouble to get to know them and we have built up a good rapport.
Being with the children keeps me young and I love it."
Leisure Connection contracts manager Nigel Mansfield said: "Swimming lessons are part of our core business and it is not common to just give away those profits.
The council has a contract with us. The better we do, the better they do and that is why we have reached this joint decision.
We shall be looking for swimming teachers and if Jackie wanted to apply to coach for us, that would be fine. She is a very able teacher."
He added that all Mrs Atwell's pupils would be guaranteed a place on the Leisure Connection course of their choice.
Three months after
losing the contract LC's
web list of clients still
included Salisbury and its coat of arms. PB 27.6.04 http://www.leisureconnection.co.uk/clients.html