Council proposes two-tier leisure membership fees

Users of council-owned leisure centres in Harrogate, Knaresborough and Ripon could pay higher membership fees than others in the county, as part of a two-tier membership proposal.

North Yorkshire Council has put forward the suggestion after a review of pricing structures across its facilities.

The proposal, which will be debated next week, is for membership fees to fall into two categories, with a premium membership at tier two facilities costing nearly £100 more than in tier one locations.

A council report said while it wanted to give residents "fair and equal access" pricing levels in some areas were already "currently higher and there has been significant investment [in facilities]".

The council carried out a review of fees after it said it had inherited more than 70 legacy membership types from the former borough and district councils which ran the county's leisure services until 2023.

It said it hoped the two tier structure would simplify the membership types.

Tier one includes existing members in Bedale, Pateley Bridge, Northallerton, Richmond, Selby, Skipton, Starbeck, Stokesley, Tadcaster, and Thirsk and Sowerby.

Tier two will apply to existing members at Harrogate, Knaresborough, and Ripon leisure and well-being hubs,

In tier one, a premium membership costs £456 for the year, while in tier two it would be £552, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

A swim-only membership would be £360 in tier one and £420 in tier two.

The proposals also state:

• Fixed-term contracts would be scrapped, with pay-as-you-go options available
• All customers wanting to take up a membership would be able to pay by monthly, no‑contract direct debit or by an annual cash payment
• Users would have the option to sign up for swim-only memberships, and premium memberships which include multi-site access to all Active North Yorkshire hubs would be also available
• Senior concessions would be brought in line with state pension age, while customers younger than state pension age would still be able to access other concession categories based on eligibility

Simon Myers, executive member for leisure, said: "A lot of work has been ongoing with our customers to learn what they want from their leisure and wellbeing hubs, and the message coming through loud and clear is that people want the option of having flexible memberships without being tied down to a contract.

"We have taken that on board as we look to introduce a more streamlined and consistent structure across all our sites. These proposals will be carefully considered when members of the executive meet next week."

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