Leisure facilities are still being affected by external economic conditions, Cardiff Council has said, with lower visitor numbers and less people using sports and community centres.
At the economy and culture scrutiny committee meeting yesterday, the council said tough economic conditions are still making their mark on visitor numbers and lettings in St David's 2 shopping centre.
"The economic conditions are still being impacted on by external events," said chief officer for economy, enterprise and infrastructure, Paul Orders. "In relation to the Harbour Authority there are still economic factors impacting on visitor numbers." Visitors to the authority had dropped from 272,949 in the second quarter to 120,250 in the third quarter. Customers had also said they were dissatisfied with the toilet facilities at the Norwegian Church.
Orders said:
"At St David's 2 space is slowly being taken up. The response as far as the letting position is concerned is something around 80% of space being let or in the process of being let."
But councillor Timothy Davies enquired as to exactly what number of units were still empty and Orders said this figure would be collected.
In October 2009, 50 shops were opened in the St David's 2 centre, with another 10 opening in December 2010 and a further 15 due to open by Easter 2010.
Council leisure centres take on private gyms
A new scale of fees and charges will be proposed for council leisure facilities for 2010/11 to anticipate a 3% increase in costs, with fees rising by 6% and swimming pool lessons increasing by 13%.
The council said they want to make the "active card" option more attractive to users and propose keeping the price of membership the same for two years.
The reason for the proposal, the committee was told, is that leisure centres across Cardiff offer different rates, and the more mobile were cherry-picking which leisure centres in different locations to use. The council said they were keen to impose a flat rate for all the leisure centres in Cardiff. Numbers using council leisure facilities had increased by 14,236 against the target for that quarter.
The chief officer for leisure, councillor Nigel Howells said : "The main problem is our leisure centres are in competition with private members gyms and we need to be in the position where we can compete with them, so we are trying to get an income we can rely on."
The council also said that after seeing £100,000 profits taken in from direct debit payments at leisure centres they are keen to take on more active card users, as opposed to those who use the "pay and play" option.
The council is also trying to raise the profile of community centres across the city. "Attendance at community halls and sports centres comes down to the imaginative impact of the people who run them," said Howells. "I have been really struck by how dynamic the centres are. What goes on in them changes regularly, so we need to try to encourage people to use them."
Councillor Cathy Pearcy said: "A lot of people have never heard of Plasnewydd community centre so we need to be advertising them more. It a nice venue and very friendly."
Cardiff Credit Union
The scrutiny committee also heard from the Cardiff Credit union, the savings and loans co-operative. Helen Cocco from the union explained the newly set up schools saving project which encourages young people to develop good saving habits. School savings clubs have been set up in St John Primary, Trowbridge, Gabalfa Primary, Gabalfa, and Llanedeyrn Primary, Llanedeyrn.
Manager Glenda Porter told the committee of increasing work the union is doing in communities – seeing particular success with an information point and bank in Ely, where bank facilities are low.
Councillor Neil McEvoy said: "I think the credit union could be the bank of Cardiff. It is the direction we should be travelling in."
