Membership at council leisure centres in the borough has soared to record levels following a multi-million-pound investment, delighted bosses said today.
The number signed up went past the 5,000 mark for the first time last month, with more than half the memberships taken out for the brand new Duncan Edwards Leisure Centre in Dudley.
There were 399 new joiners in April, with 288 of those signing up for Duncan Edwards.
Council bosses said there was still capacity for more members to comfortably enjoy the facilities at the centres – and called on people with expensive private gym memberships to check out the savings they could make by switching over.
It comes after Dudley Council committed to its biggest spend on leisure services in decades.
Bosses budgeted £18 million on the new build and millions more on breathing new life into facilities at Crystal Leisure Centre in Stourbridge and Halesowen Leisure Centre.
Councillor Simon Phipps, cabinet member responsible for leisure centres, said:
"This is fantastic news and comes on the back of our commitment to the biggest spend on leisure facilities this borough has ever seen.
"We now have three modern leisure centres and the figures speak for themselves – we now have more people who want to use them than ever before.
"We still have capacity to take on more members and I would urge people to check out what we can offer.
"Given what is included with our memberships, prices are very attractive compared to some modern gyms.
"Our residents may find that they could save quite a lot and still use excellent quality fitness facilities."
A standard Lifestyle membership, which offers unlimited access to facilities and classes across the three leisure centres, costs £32 per month or £352 per year. New members will get 12 months for the price of 11 if they pay the annual sum in one go.
Discounts are available for students, people over 60, and those who work for Dudley Council, the NHS, any of the emergency services, the Department for Work and Pensions, Academy Trusts, or serve in the UK Armed Forces.
There are also cheaper memberships available just for swimming and for toning/wellness.
For more information on memberships, or to sign up, go to www.dbleisure.co.uk
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