Struggling climbing wall still running at a loss as new pricing plan worked up
The facility is forecasting a £15,000 loss from April to June this year
Prices are being reviewed as leaders try to turn around the fortunes of the struggling Plymouth Life Centre climbing wall which was saved from the axe following a massive backlash.
The facility is forecasting a £15,000 loss from April to June this year. A new pricing plan and programme will be in place for the “critical” September to January period, Plymouth City Councillors heard this week.
One idea being looked at is having different fees for locals and non locals, a system which currently exists at Tinside Lido.
Thousands of people signed petitions calling for the retention of the 16 metre high wall when the city council and its trading arm Plymouth Active Leisure (PAL) announced a proposal to turn it into a soft play area which they said would attract more families to the Life Centre and be more lucrative.
The climbing wall had been losing £100,000 a year and only had just over 200 subscribers.
But the idea was scrapped before a public consultation ended with Plymouth City Council’s cabinet member for sport and finance Cllr Kate Taylor (Lab, Ham) saying it had “listened to the people”.
At a meeting of the council’s health and adult social care scrutiny committee this week the two bodies in charge were criticised for their “lack of public engagement”.
Speaking on behalf of the petitioners Paul Roberts said a decision of this scale should be made on “robust evidence, meaningful engagement and social and economic impacts”.
Based on Freedom of Information evidence he said redundancy costs had already been factored into this year’s budget giving the impression that the decision had largely been made pending final approval rather than subject to general consultation.
He said PAL had failed to contact the British Mountaineering Council (BMC) which uses the Life Centre as a host venue for the Youth Climbing Series when the proposal was first mentioned.
He told councillors that over 100 young people attended weekly sessions that were not recorded on visitor numbers and climbing was one of the fastest growing sports in the UK.
The Plymouth facility had a large demographic from schools to youth groups and external clubs, the LGBTQ community, military groups, disabled classes, alcohol and substance abuse rehabilitation groups and more mature users with the age of climbers ranging from tots to 80 year olds.
Mr Robert said PAL had inherited an “already underfunded wall” when it took over the city’s leisure facilities but under its management there has been little capital investment or meaningful marketing despite having a £64,000 marketing budget.
He added that casual entrance fees appeared to be 25-30 per cent lower than similar facilities and had been for some time.
He made a plea to leaders for “openness” and a commitment to protecting an asset that gave significant value to the city.
Chief executive of PAL Rhys Jones said the Life Centre was a regional venue for climbing but received no funding from the national climbing bodies at the moment. He hoped that would change.
Talks were taking place between leaders and BMC to explore ideas and opportunities for the future.
Climbing would now be part of the strategic plan for the centre in the way that swimming was and a review was taking place engaging with the community.
He said quite a lot had happened since June 1 to make progress but it was going to be “a long road” and the autumn and winter period which was the busiest time of the year would be “critical”.
“The students will be coming back for the winter – we need a pricing plan and new programme ready for September,” he said.
One of the keys things was getting children and young people involved in climbing and the BMC event would be used as the springboard for that.
Cllr Kate Taylor described how a lot of the grief had been directed at her, some of which was “quite horrific” and explained that the council was not directly involved in the operation of the arms length company, which it agreed to extend the leisure contract to until 2042 in February.
She said: “It’s very clear the climbing wall means a great deal to people. I would like to move forward and increase participation and improve the sustainability of the wall so it remains for many years.”
She said there had been an increase in social media and marketing since the decision was made.
Plymouth City Council approved a £975,000 loan to PAL to drive growth in February after recognising it had “a bumpy” start in the aftermath of Covid.
The company, which also runs Mount Wise outdoor pools and Plympton Swimming Pool and Gym as well as Tinside Lido and Brickfields Sports Centre and Recreation Ground, was still yet to pay back its £1.6 million start up loan to the council at the beginning of the year.