A SURVEY of ukactive members has revealed that nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of council areas remain at risk of seeing their leisure centres close or reduce services by September, due to ongoing high energy costs and other operational pressures.
ukactive’s energy risk survey received responses from public sector operators across 143 council areas in the UK and from private sector operators representing a total of 579 sites.
It found that 62.5 per cent of fitness facilities run by private sector operators are extremely likely to have to increase customer pricing in the next six months to help cope with high operating costs, with 75 per cent having already been forced to raise prices since October 2023. Continued price increases would not be a sustainable solution for businesses or for consumers.
While energy prices have stabilised to a degree, they remain substantially higher than before the energy crisis and in some cases, gyms, pools, and leisure centres have seen bills rise by more than 200 per cent.
To respond to these pressures, publicly operated facilities in 15 per cent of council areas have introduced changes to their financial or operational models to protect against the impact of further energy price rises.
The current geopolitical situation on energy costs, increased staffing costs and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis were all listed as areas of serious, ongoing concern by operators.