Concerns over pool cleanliness
Leisure centre users unhappy with level of hygiene
Perth Leisure Pool users have reported unhappiness with the level of cleanliness at the recreation centre.
While the number of people using Live Active Leisure’s facilities has almost doubled, customers are showing increased dissatisfaction.
Earlier this year councillors shelved plans for the £110 million PH20 project to replace Perth Leisure Pool and Dewars Centre - due to lack of funds.
In March cash-strapped operators Live Active Leisure proposed “a number of significant cuts” including the closure of Dewars Centre from July 1 and Perth Leisure Pool from September 1.
It was saved from closure and local people were urged to “use it or lose it”.
But an increasing number of customers are concerned about uncleanliness at the pool which operators say is “largely” due to the “age of the building and general wear and tear”.
Perth and Kinross Council’s Communities Service Annual Performance Report 2022/23 was put before PKC’S Environment, Infrastructure and Economic Development Committee on Monday, May 31.
The report showed the number of attendances to pools, indoor and outdoor sport, and leisure facilities had almost doubled from 555,188 in 2021/22 to 1,059,466 in 2022/23 with the closure of Dundee’s Olympia
Pool increasing the numbers using Perth pool by seven per cent.
The report stated: “Activities include an uplift in swimming at Perth Leisure Pool, due to the Olympia Pool in Dundee being closed throughout the year, accounting for approximately seven per cent impact on total customer generated income.”
It also reported an increase in fitness membership with total membership numbers at the end of March 2023 increasing to 3709.
Following the pandemic most venues have returned to being fully operational with attendance at around 87 per cent of pre-covid levels compared with an industry average of approximately 80-90 per cent.
However, while customer usage has increased, satisfaction levels have decreased from 74 per cent in 2020/21 to 58 per cent in 2022/23. Customers were unhappy with the standard of hygiene at Perth Leisure Pool and parking provisions at Bell’s Sports Centre.
The report stated: “Regarding the decrease in satisfaction levels, customer surveys have shown issues with cleanliness, particularly in Perth Leisure Pool, which is mainly due to the older age of the building, and general wear and tear, which is causing an appearance of uncleanliness.
“The surveys have also shown customer dissatisfaction with the amount of parking available at Bell’s
Sport Centre. The options to resolve this issue have been restrictive however Live Active Leisure have removed some grass areas to increase the number of spaces slightly. Additional bike racks have also been added.”
Following the meeting Live Active Leisure told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it proactively seeks feedback from customers to “identify where improvements are necessary” and to try to address them.
A spokesperson for Live Active Leisure said: “Whilst it is never pleasing to read of any level of customer dissatisfaction, we proactively seek feedback from our customers to identify where improvements are necessary.
“Comments regarding cleanliness at Perth Leisure Pool have been shared with the venue management team to address and where we have the relevant contact details to provide a response. Unfortunately, there are some instances at Perth Leisure Pool where the age of the building and general wear and tear can give an appearance of uncleanliness.
“At Bell’s Sports Centre we have worked closely with Perth and Kinross Council to improve the surface of the car park and increase the total number of spaces by nine, which included additional disabled spaces.
“Bike racks are available at the entrance, and we are currently working in partnership with PKC and Sustrans Scotland to install a secure, covered bike shelter.”