Places Leisure clarifies rules surrounding new £30 joining fee

The £21million facility, which opened two years ago and is run by Places Leisure, recently scrapped its three-month upfront payment plan, which used to cost £114 for unlimited access to the gym, swimming pool and fitness classes.

Now, only three upfront memberships exist; £430 for unlimited access to the gym, pool and classes for a year, £300 to use the pool for a year or £33 to visit the spa for a month.

Otherwise, visitors have to pay for a monthly rolling membership by credit/debit card or direct debit, costing £40 a month for access to the gym, pool and classes.

However, when renewing these memberships online, users also have to pay a £30 joining fee.

And adults who opt for a monthly rolling swimming membership, which costs £27.50 a month, are also being asked to stump up a £25 joining fee.

A ‘Premium Flexi Plus’ membership, costing £52 a month, gives the user unlimited access to the gym, pool and classes and the spa. But again, if signing up online, people are asked to pay a £30 joining fee.

However, a spokeperson for Places Leisure insisted joining fees were only applicable to new customers, or people who decide to take up a membership more than 30 days after an old one has been cancelled.

They added: “At the start of April, we introduced some changes to our membership structure across our Northumberland sites.

"These changes included streamlining our annual and monthly membership options. These changes make it easier for our customers to choose a membership that suits them, while also aligning the membership options for Northumberland with those of other Places Leisure centres across the country.

“Customers will only have to pay joining fees if they are a new customer or if they decide to rejoin after 30 days of cancelling a previous membership.”

When informed that a customer who had been a member of the centre in Gas House Lane for six months had had to pay £30 for transferring to a monthly rolling membership, the spokesperson said they had been incorrectly charged, adding: “We sincerely apologise for this and will ensure a refund is made as soon as possible.”

The added: “We would recommend that anyone who wants to renew their membership to do so in their local centre or over the phone (01670 620200). We are currently working on improving the online journey to make it easier to renew online.”