Number of people using Dudley leisure centres is on the rise

There were around 1.27 million visits logged between April 2013 and March 2014.

The council runs sites in Dudley, Halesowen and Stourbridge.

Bosses say increasing the range of activities on offer such as fitness classes and a £1.5million revamp of the gyms at the sites has helped to attract more people. They say families are also becoming more health conscious.

The total number of visits went up from 1,231,326 in 2012/13 to 1,275,557 in 2013/14.

Dudley Leisure Centre saw visitor numbers rise from 286,481 to 296,808.

Halesowen Leisure Centre recorded 393,733 visits in 2012/13 and 399,688 in 2013/14.

Visits to the Crystal Leisure Centre went up from 551,112 to 579,061 last year.

Councillor Rachel Harris, cabinet member responsible for health, said: "The popularity of our leisure centres continues to grow as more and more people opt for healthier lifestyles.

"People can choose from a wide range of activities including our state of the art gyms, swimming pools and our packed programme of popular exercise classes at Dudley, Halesowen and Crystal leisure centres.

"Since our £1.5million investment in leisure centre gyms in 2008 membership has also soared from around 600 to 3,871."

Dudley Council closed one of its pools in 2009. Coseley Baths was shut despite a campaign by residents to save it from the bulldozer.

At the time the authority said urgent work was needed to replace the electrics and fire safety equipment and improve disabled access to the pool.

They also highlighted the number of alternative swimming pools in the area, including a new £15m centre in Bilston.

Neighbouring borough Sandwell has also reported a similar rise in visitor numbers to its leisure centres.

There were around 1.6 million visits logged between April 2013 and March 2014 - up by six per cent on the previous year.

Staff say one of the reasons for the increase is the free swimming scheme that was launched last summer.

Council bosses say the increased numbers are the culmination of a number of factors, particularly the building of new leisure centres across the borough.

Around £38.5 million has already been spent by the authority on building three new leisure centres in Tipton , Oldbury and West Bromwich, while more than £7m is also currently being spent on a new centre in Wednesbury, expected to open in autumn next year. It is expected to have a 25-metre pool, two dance studios and a 100-station fitness suite.