You will be aware that we have recently made some changes to the swimming timetable at Flitwick Leisure Centre on a few days of the week, at times when swimming lessons are taking place. The changes affected some public sessions on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday in the early evening and Saturday morning. Sessions outside of these days and times were unaffected and continued as normal.
We would like to take the opportunity to explain the reasons for these changes, and provide an update on subsequent changes we have made following customer feedback.
The key reason for these changes are due to the need to change the swimming pool layout during swimming lessons for health and safety purposes. This is to ensure safe access to the side of the pool, appropriate space for the capacity for each class, and to allow the required swimming distance for certain stages. This aligns with Swim England core values and best practice, as well as promoting a more positive learning experience.
We are delighted to confirm that following customer feedback we have reviewed the pool timetable again, and are pleased to make additional changes that allow further public swimming on a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This revised timetable can be accessed via the link below.
There is a huge demand for swimming at Flitwick Leisure Centre, from a variety of groups with different needs, which makes it challenging when setting a timetable. There are customers who want to swim in lanes at differing speeds, families who want to enjoy time together in the pool, school swimming lessons, the centre’s own swimming lesson programme, competitive swimming clubs, aquatic clubs, and group exercise classes all to be accommodated.
We can assure you all that we will regularly monitor the pool timetable to make sure it is balanced, providing ample opportunity for users to enjoy the pool, whilst still maintaining safety as our main priority when programming activities in our leisure centres.
Booking Swimming
We have also received questions regarding the booking system that has been implemented. Following relaxation of Covid restrictions many pools across the country have retained a booking system (including The Dunstable Centre and Tiddenfoot Leisure Centre).
The benefits of booking include:
- Customers know they have a session booked (instead of turning up and finding the pool full)
- Customers can tell in advance which sessions will be busier (if they want a quieter swim)
- We have found that booking increases commitment, so customers are more likely to attend
It is important to note this does not prevent customers turning up speculatively, hoping that space is available, customers can still arrive at any time swimming is available, and book at reception or via the app on arrival.
Additionally using a booking system helps to align the service with the other pools in Central Bedfordshire.