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Shropshire Council axes free swimming
Thursday 1st July 2010, 12:13PM BST.
SHROPSHIRE COUNCIL is scrapping its free swimming scheme for children and the over-60s because of the Government squeeze on public spending.
The scheme will come to an end on August 1, the council announced today.
The national scheme was launched in 2008 amid much fanfare as a London 2012 Olympic initiative.
But is now seen by the coalition Government as a “luxury” which can no longer be afforded.
The council received a grant of £270,600 a year towards the cost but also pumped its own money to extended the scheme to under-18s.
The authority does not have the cash to keep the scheme going. Over the past few weeks it has lost more than £7 million in grants and during the next three years is faced with finding savings of up to £50 million.
Take-up of the free sessions has been the second highest in the West Midlands after Birmingham.
Disappointed
Telford & Wrekin is still considering the future of its scheme.
Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council cabinet member for culture and leisure, said today: “Shropshire Council is disappointed this scheme has been cut short.
“It had proved extremely popular among the people of Shropshire, providing a simple and cost-effective way to keep fit and healthy.
“However, this is a decision beyond our control. The Government has made no secret of its intentions to make these difficult decisions and we understand that in these tough economic times, tough decisions have to be made.”
The council recently launched the BeActive leisure membership scheme, which is open to all residents, visitors, clubs, groups and organisations and available at all council leisure facilities, to encourage people to take part in leisure activities.
It has attracted more than 8,100 users so far and offers discounts of up to 15 per cent on most activities at council leisure centres.
Membership of the scheme costs up to £5, which members would gain back within their first few visits and then go on to make further savings.
By Dave Morris
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Lovely timing for the summer holidays.
Still free at The Flash for Welsh residents however, I imagine.
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So not only to we get penalised for living in a rural area and it costing a small fortune for even a childs return ticket – now becuase we don’t live in Wales we don’t deserve the free swimming as an Olympic initiative!!! But we can afford to host the Olympics in 2010….
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its 2012 is it not ? not as said we can afford it now.
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sorry simple typing error!! 2012
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how much does it cost for all us old codgers to have a “FREE SWIM” (if you know what I mean)- Do we have to have the water specially warmed up? Do we use the lockers for free? Just what is is that’s costing so much for us to pop in and get wet in the water that is already there and heated for everyone to use already? How many parents that pay to swim,will now not be able to, if they have to pay for their children as well. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!!! I for one hope it hurts!!!
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Well there is the cost of the building being there – usually paid for a loan over 40 – 60 years.
The cost of the national non domestic rates
Energy costs – lighting and heating
Water rates!
Staffing costs
just becuase it’s there does not mean that the building is not costing us – in fact just being there is costing something.
The alternative of course is just to slap a lot more on Council Tax.
There is no such thing as FREE anything
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That ice rink and drive-in cinema are getting closer by the day eh Frankie?
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Merc you are very good at making these sarcastic comments. There’s a big difference in free swimming and an attraction charging for it’s services. I see you went very quiet on the other comments page.
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(laughs) Merc is basically what’s known as a ‘troll’ and as such, none of his comments can be taken at all seriously. Ssee the following definition:-
In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response[1] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[2] In addition to the offending poster, the noun “troll” can also refer to the provocative message itself, as in that was an excellent troll you posted. While the term troll and its associated action, trolling, are primarily associated with Internet discourse, media attention in recent years has made such labels highly subjective, with ‘trolling’ being used to describe many intentionally provocative actions outside of an online context.
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The flash is better anyway, so give them the money , far to much sillyness & rudeness by staff at the shrewsbury baths
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Yea thats great no busses run from our village to Welshpool so only Welsh kids ca n swim!!!
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why not buy two cars or surley you can share with husband we survive and have done very well with one car in a rural area.As for “only welsh kids can swim for free the” I didnt ralise all children or adults for that matter living just across the border in welshpool were welsh infact welshpool is full of ex salopians who couldnt afford to buy in shrewsbury or surrounding villages.
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The baths are owned by the council merc, ice rink and outdoor cinema would be private business would they not??
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We take our children swimming every week and have purchased 2 Active Cards to give us a discount. Don’t think we will be able to afford to go weekly if the charges for the children are too high. What a Shame for a lot of families in Shropshire who benefit from this scheme. Surely, there are better ways to find money and make cuts….
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Free swimming taken from the kids? It will be free milk at school next you watch my words……..erm? Don’t the Tories love taking things from the kids. A little bit of history repeating itself! Well you voted for them didn’t you?
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A bit like cutting your nose off to spite your face. Just how much exactly are you going to save bearing in mind that the accompanying paying adults are now also not going to attend? I am looking forward to this new executive lounge you plan on building, along with our tax funding the flax mill and the ever so needed coffee house and heritage centre in the music hall.
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I understand the need to save money and not waste it. I have no issue with the Tory cuts. We need to tighten belts.
But in my mind i have to question the general level of our councils intelligence and their ability to budget accurately and forecast financial conditions. The plain truth is evident, they were happy spend 470k+ of tax payers money on a Darwin memorial, which could never be described as essential; yet they wish to cut funding for a children’s activity that i would consider essential!
Swimming is good for children’s health and it brings families into the town where they spend money which feeds the local economy. With the current need to tighten belts that affects your average family, i would rate free swimming as far more important than a lump of expensive celebratory concrete.
The cynical part of me wonders if this is convenient for the council bean counters such that when attendance figures drop they will be able to prove what a saving can be made by closing the pool.
The level of sheer ineptitude and incompetency within our council leaves me seething with disgust and yet cold at the same time.
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Perhaps free swimming could be kept for selected times or reduced to half price in school holidays. Maybe other options could be considered – loyalty card perhaps which could offer free swim after a certain number visits.
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The cancellation of the free swimming offer for under 16s and over 60s is was announced by the Tory Sports and Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson on 17 June. It’s nothing to do directly with Shropshire Council. However, you won’t find Shropshire’s Glorious Leader campaigning against it (despite his links to County swimming) because it might put him in bad odour in Smith Square. Likewise the Leader of Shropshire’s Opposition, who likes to refer to “our government”.
If you don’t like it, speak to one of Shropshire’s four Tory MPs. Or the “coalition”‘s political lackeys in the Conservative and Liberal Democrat groups. Or think back to what you did in the ballot box. But don’t blame “The Council” and particularly Council officers who are trying to do their best for Shropshire, in their mainly-less-well-paid-than-they-would-get-in-the-private-sector job, under daily threat of yet more Tory and Liberal cuts.
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I think this is a rather short sighted measure. The pools have to be heated and maintained if a fee is paid or not.
Allowing free children means that in many cases an adult will attend thus offsetting the cost.
Also it will lessen the drain on the NHS if general fitness levels in children (and the accompanying adults) is improved.
If pitched sensibly this scheme should be at zero cost to run ie attract adults with the children and run OAP sessions when the pools are traditionally mostly unused.
I think the cost benefit for scrapping it is rather shot sighted.
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Unfortunately swimming was one of the things my self and my family could do together at cost, now I will not be able to go because a swimming session for us all will cost nearly twenty pounds. I understand that every one is suffering but what will go next I wonder ?
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Joanne,
Not everyone is suffering.
Executive pay continues to rise at an above inflation rate, the bankers, who caused so much of our debt, have got away scot-free (the proposed levy will be paid for by their customers), and multi-millionaires such as Cameron and Osborne and their old Etonian mates are very well insulated from any pain.
The removal of free swimming, as with the swingeing, dogma-driven cuts in public spending (which for the Daily Mail & Sun readerrs amongst you will hit at least as many private sector jobs as they do public-sector ones!), are all just an excuse to rob ordinary working people to subsidise the rich. That’s what we expect from the Tories, but I believe Clegg’s betrayal of the many decent people who voted Lib-Dem has killed that party stone dead.
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The cancellation of free swimming is a central government directive so that is a very misleading headline.
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I remember leaving Shrewsbury pool with my three, having of course, to have to say ‘no’ to an ice-cream from the van then meeting an eldery gentleman who waxed lyrical about the benefits of swimmimg for children. I pointed out that we would not be doing it again because of the cost and he was astounded having no idea how much these things can be for a family.
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It’s a luxury – end it!
And while they’re at it – introduce a flat fee of 50p for bus journeys instead of a free bus passes for OAP’s.
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So Londoners get free table tennis tables when we are all told to tighten our belts and have had our brief period of free swimming for children taken away.
Will Wales who have had for a long time and still continue to offer free music and swimming lessons for children, also be now offering free whiff whaff? :0
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I love the argument about kids health suffering. Swimming isn’t the only form of exercise you know! Why not take a walk, go for a run or get your bike out instead of mooching off the system and burdoning us childless taxpayers? I think kids get more than enough paid for in this country, if you can’t afford kids then you shouldn’t have had them. Perhaps if you hadn’t fed the kids rubbish to begin with then they wouldn’t need so much exercise!
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