Trade unions kick off campaign to keep Dudley leisure centres in public control

A review process is underway at Dudley Council as it looks to save cash on running the borough’s leisure centres in Stourbridge, Halesowen and Dudley.

Among the options on the table is outsourcing the centres to a private company with a ten-year, £60m contract on offer.

Former councillor Tracy Wood, who previously campaigned to keep three leisure centres in Dudley, said: “I’d strongly urge Dudley councillors to step back and take a good look at costs and problems associated with outsourcing public provision of leisure centres to a private company.

“From my experience it doesn’t save money and causes more problems than it solves.

“Let’s protect our three borough leisure centres for our future generations to enjoy what we did at reasonable or very low cost.”

Dudley Council says the process of deciding whether to outsource running the centres is ongoing and no decisions have been made.

Jess Stoll from Dudley TUC is worried what outsourcing may mean for centre users. She said: “Dudley Leisure Centres are vital for a wide range of users, many of whom depend on them to maintain their health and wellbeing, and they attract people to our towns.

“Where contracts have been outsourced elsewhere, this has often meant higher prices for users and more work and less pay for staff involved.

“When Sandwell Council outsourced its leisure centres and attempted to fire and rehire its staff, it was forced to reverse this, after a 20-month long dispute with UNISON that saw industrial action seven times and widespread disruption for users.”

John Hodgetts, a user of Duncan Edwards Leisure Centre, added: “Staff and users of leisure facilities across the borough need stability and investment for the benefit of the community.

"We want to see reinvestment and services we can all be proud of.”