A PENSIONER has slammed Conwy Council for increasing the price of its gym membership by as much as 100%.
The Ffit Conwy scheme gives subscribers access to ten leisure centres across the county and its “state-of-the-art fitness equipment” as well as four swimming pools.
Ffit Conwy members – who all pay varying monthly amounts depending on when they signed up or which package they signed up for – have received an email, informing them prices are going up – and by as much as 100% in some cases.
Cash-strapped Conwy Council says it is “standardising” its pricing structure from April 1, 2025 and are contacting affected Ffit Conwy members to let them know.
This “standardising” includes those paying a concessionary fee, such as those signed up on a GP referral scheme.
Pensioner Gwyn Hughes, 77, of Abergele, is angry about the increase.
Mr Hughes, a former Colwyn County Borough Council and Conwy County Council councillor, says he helped set up a concessionary scheme in the 1990s for those given a referral by their GP.
“I have been on this scheme following a GP referral for health reasons since 2010. The deal was meant to be a lifetime offer,” he said.
“I’m sure there will be many, like me, who are not very happy considering all the other increases being piled on us.
“After I retired, I was put on the GP referral scheme. I was one of the original instigators of the GP referral scheme when I was a councillor, and we set this up in the days of Colwyn.
“Then Conwy came into being and the NHS got involved, and it has been quite a successful operation.
“Fast forward a few years, and I had health problems. The scheme did help me a lot.
“There was an offer if you signed up to Ffit Conwy, as it is now known, you would get 50% off for life.
“I was paying £12.50 a month. It’s gone up to £25. Generally, I would use the gym once or twice a week, no more.
“In the last few years, it has been once a week, but it’s there for you, and it’s been a hell of a successful operation; however, out of the blue, Conwy have increased this to £25, a 100% increase.”
He added: “It is going to hit an awful lot of people. If they would have said, there will be a slight increase every year, I don’t think you could really complain.
“To do it the way they have, that’s why I’m so incensed.
“I won’t be carrying on with it. I’m really annoyed. I’m not saying I’m a pauper, but I’m a pensioner.
“The way they’ve done it really cheesed me off.
“An email came out of the blue. It will affect hundreds of people. It will affect people’s health. The scheme was to make people healthier.”
Conwy was asked to provide specific details about the fee rises, but a spokeswoman said the council was unable to do so “because existing members are currently paying different amounts depending on when they joined and/or which package they signed-up for”.
A spokeswoman for Conwy County Council said: “Ffit Conwy is raising membership fees from April 2025 due to large rises in operational costs such as energy.
“Ffit Conwy has invested significantly in its facilities and improved services since COVID and is proud to have frozen membership fees since 2021 until now.”
She added: “The new prices continue to offer great value for money in comparison to other local fitness providers and neighbouring authority-managed memberships.
“The increase will also help to support more service investments planned for the future.”
