Lewisham's expanding leisure facilities courtesy of Con-Fusion

Lewisham's main "leisure contractors" Fusion Lifetyles took over from Parkwood Leisure in around October 2011.

For users of Wavelengths, this has resulted in cockroaches in the sauna, a dirty pool, dirty changing rooms and filthy showers. The gym took over a year to deliver. Much of what was promised still has to be delivered. In the new sauna, there are no cold showers, only warm ones. The cold showers have been replaced by an 'ice room'. This is basically a large bucket of ice which users are supposed to drench themselves in, but is in fact being used to chill soft drinks, with some users drinking the ice that other users have just doused their sweat in. Music plays in the warm showers with no guidance on how to turn it off or down.

The centre's User Guide advises sauna users to use the cold shower or plunge pool afterwards but these are not available. It used to cost £6.25 to combine a swim and sauna. It now costs £3 extra to swim since there is no longer any connection between the two facilities – users must dry off and dress to cross from one to the other.

Meanwhile, it's announced that a "£20 million leisure centre opens in the heart of Lewisham on Monday". When a disgruntled Wavelengths user complained about Fusion's facilities last week, he was told to go to Glass Mill instead. "Con-Fusion" is how he describes the present regime at Wavelengths.

Here's the Press Release for the Glass Mill Leisure Centre. More PUFF than a steam engine enthusiasts' convention...

On  Monday 10 June, Glass Mill – Lewisham’s flagship new leisure centre – will open to the public.


The £20m centre, located on Loampit Vale, has been designed by leisure specialists LA Architects and will be operated by registered charity Fusion Lifestyle on behalf of Lewisham Council. The contractor for Glass Mill is Pellikaan, with additional works by Barratt Homes who are developing the adjacent ‘Renaissance’ scheme.


Glass Mill has superb environmental credentials and will offer a range of the most up-to-date facilities and equipment. As well as a regional competition standard 8-lane swimming pool with seating for 300 spectators, there will be a 20m training pool, a 100-station gym, a climbing wall, a creche and two studios offering a programme of classes. Users of the leisure centre will also be able to pamper themselves in a health suite with treatment rooms and sauna, steam and ‘ice’ rooms.


Great thought has gone into changing areas with separate male and female changing as well as specific areas for families and people with disabilities. The centre is fully accessible and includes moveable floors in both pools, changing cubicles with wheelchair access and signage suitable for the visually impaired. 


A key feature of the building is the stunning display of over 1,800 coloured tiles, designed by artist Phil Coy, that form the façade and carry through into a rainbow of light in the various parts of the centre. Glass Mill’s exterior also includes a lighting display that changes in line with the surrounding soundscape. 


A full menu of delicious food and refreshing drinks will be on offer throughout the day at the Rhubarb and Custard Café. Items served up by Rhubarb and Custard’s resident chef and dedicated staff will include gourmet burgers, healthy salads, coffee and homemade cakes, and a children’s menu. This local firm – a former recipient of a Mayor Of Lewisham Business Award – already has a committed following in its local neighbourhood of Lee and also operates the café at Wavelengths Leisure Centre in Deptford. 


Mayor of Lewisham, Sir Steve Bullock, took a dip in the new swimming pool and said: “I am delighted to mark the open of this outstanding new leisure centre. Glass Mill is the culmination of over a decade of leisure investment in the borough.
 
“There is now a real opportunity for local people to take part in affordable leisure in all areas around the borough. That is what we have always been aiming for. ” 


Fusion Lifestyle Chief Executive, Pete Kay said of the opening: "We are extremely impressed with the high standard of facilities now on offer at Glass Mill Leisure Centre and are proud and excited to begin the management of this fantastic centre.


“We believe that the opening of Glass Mill will make a real difference to the local community by providing first-rate sport, swimming and fitness facilities at an affordable price, and Fusion Lifestyle are committed to continuous development of our programmes and activities in order to offer new opportunities for everyone in Lewisham.” 


Alastair Baird, Managing Director of Barratt London said: “We have great pleasure in delivering a landmark building for Lewisham as part of the wider Renaissance development.”

Delays in Lounge and Tidemill School openings

The Deptford Dame reports delays in the opening of the library in the new Deptford Lounge building. Originally it was due to re-open tomorrow. Staff at Wavelengths told us this is due to a problem with the under-floor heating, which had to be re-dug up...You can still use Lewisham Library or renew online at www.lewisham.gov.uk/libraries, or phone 0208 314 6399.

In a great example of Localism – getting information from the horse's mouth, in the total absence of any news from the council itself – staff also say there is a delay in the refurbishment of the old library which is to become a massive gym, and confirm that there will be no cafe facilities (so no Starbucks). The good news is that for those who don't qualify for a Lewisham Plus Card, membership will now be more flexible (not tied to a 12-month contract), and will give access to other facilities in the borough.

The Dame also reports the delay in the opening of Tidemill School as an Academy, resulting in a scandalous alternative for parents, who will be asked to pay £100 a week to place their kids on a playscheme whilst the school closes early for Christmas to facilitate the move to the new building. The story was reported in the Evening Standard, the South London Press and by local campaign academies.sayingno.org. Parents believe that if the school were still under local authority control, free child-care would have been provided. A bullish chairman of governors, Keith Geary, said "there's no obligation for us to provide this service."

This is typical of the attitude of the Tidemill Academy governors, some of whom have no links with education at all. Crosswhatfields recently caught a glimpse of the new facilities at the new site, which look fantastic. Geary and his like would have us think these facilities are part of their Academy vision, but in fact they are intrinsic to Lewisham's vision for the area that involve the old school site being redeveloped, with the building of 400 flats due to start in 2012 (bringing the total number of new homes planned for Deptford to around 6,500).

Starbucks at Wavelengths

The sauna, steam room and changing rooms at Wavelengths were closed on Wednesday for a long overdue deep clean. Parkwood Leisure are gone, and in their place come Fusion Lifestyles. All council leisure centres, except in Downham and Ladywell, will close at 6.30pm on Friday 14th (tomorrow) for a "smooth handover". It will re-open at 7am Saturday morning.

Fusion Lifestyles will be running Lewisham's leisure facilities for the next 15 years. It is a registered charity and will be paying for the additional facilities to be added to the Wavelengths site (a new gym) now that the library has moved to the new Deptford Lounge. Fusion Lifestyle's facilities usually include a cafe run by Starbucks.

We know one New Yorker living on Crossfields who will be very pleased to hear this news, but the arrival of Starbucks is being met with less enthusiasm on the high street where cafe culture has recently taken an inexplicable upturn, with independent venues popping up all over the place. Wavelengths may see an increase in visitors due to improved facilities and Starbucks are undoubtedly well placed to serve a captive audience throughout the borough, but Wavelengths cafe is unlikely to be a hotspot for high street shoppers.

Wavelengths Library closure

Those who use the library regularly will know already, but those who pop in occasionally may not...Wavelengths Library will be closed from 5pm tomorrow for five weeks, whilst it moves to the Deptford Lounge to become a "new state-of-the-art district library providing a whole range of community facilities".

We have no news of the official launch of the Deptford Lounge, but library staff told us they plan to re-open on 31st October and if you borrow anything today or tomorrow it will be stamped 31st October (although you may return it to any other Lewisham library before then).

The Leisure Pool is also due to close at some point, but we are assured the Training Pool will remain open throughout these changes.