The qualitative feedback received from respondents provides greater insight into the status of public leisure operators.
One of their chief concerns is their ability to withstand any future outbreaks of COVID-19 while they also report that a lack of investment in community facilities is likely to result in the loss of key services, hitting those who depend on these services the hardest.
One of the few positives to come out of the situation is that it has encouraged the sector to think differently, with one operator saying: “Whilst the impact has been severe, one upside is that it has challenged us to bring in new ways of working and technology that will be a positive for the future.
“The pressure is to get through the here and now before we start rebuilding again.”
Another commented,“We will have to invent our own ‘new norm’ and build from there.”
Lockdown and government restrictions implemented since centres have reopened have left them in a vulnerable position, as these comments show:
"We have a plan that will work for
the time being, but there is no certainty that the government interventions
will get us back to a normal situation. Thus, our fiscal situation will be
unlikely to improve"
"I worry that operating under social distancing restrictions will continue for much longer than we anticipated – perhaps to mid-2021. Operating in these conditions is fundamentally a massive shrink in our business, and we still lose money every month in this scenario. It’s not viable to carry current levels of fixed costs for this length of time"
"We’ve been fortunate that we held some reserves and this money has been used to cover ongoing costs. However, we own our building and any repairs and breakdowns must be funded by ourselves. We feel that we have survived so far, but if we have a major structural problem in the next six months, we could face significant issues"
"The lockdown and heavy financial costs mean our contributions towards replacing a swimming pool have had to cease and delays will mean increased costs and potentially a threat of not being able
to replace the pool before its scheduled closure in 2025"
"The ongoing fiscal situation will mean capital sums are harder to get and this may jeopardise plans"
"This is going to affect ordinary people and our grassroots organisations and may permanently alter or diminish their purpose in communities. When it comes to things like sports clubs, the options for learning to swim and back to health and health referral schemes, we’ll have to focus on the commercial work that underpins these first, to the detriment
of those services"