JOBS at leisure centres across Northumberland are at risk as part of radical changes in the working patterns of gym staff.

Active Northumberland wants to halve the hours worked by staff in the health and fitness sections of its centres, including Hexham’s Wentworth Leisure Centre, Prudhoe Waterworld and Ponteland Leisure Centre.

Under the proposals, which staff were told about last week, the number of Active Northumberland’s gym employees will be cut from 65 to 47.

But most of those kept on the payroll will be asked to reduce their hours, meaning that gyms will be manned for just 50 hours per week, instead of more than 100 hours at present.

A union official has condemned the planned cutbacks, and gym users have already voiced concerns about the impact of reduced hours on safety.

But Active Northumberland chief executive Lorraine Dewison defended the cuts, saying they were essential to protect and improve the leisure facilities.

“The removal of subsidy from the council and potential loss of funding from public health means Active Northumberland is increasingly required to operate in a more commercial way to meet the needs of our members,” she said.

“Following a comprehensive review of our gyms, fitness classes and GP referral schemes, we feel it necessary to modernise our systems and processes.

“We need to ensure our leisure facilities are managed all over the county in a fair, transparent and equal way. This means that we need to ensure we have the right levels of staff at the right locations in order to deliver the best possible service for our customers.”

Natasha Nicholson, regional organiser for the Unison public services union, said: “Active Northumberland has made significant changes in the past 18 months and, unfortunately, the unions haven’t always been involved.

“We are supporting our members through the current consultation process regarding changes to the gym and leisure provisions which, in its current form, we do not feel provides sufficient detail or consideration of future delivery and impact.

“We hope to work with Active Northumberland in a positive manner going forward, and we will be meeting with the chief executive to express our concerns.”

A 30-day consultation period will end on April 21 and staff affected by the proposals have been offered the opportunity to apply for voluntary redundancy. If the cutbacks go ahead, existing employees will have to reapply for posts.

Last year Active Northumberland sparked a wave of protests after introducing new pricing structures, which combined gym and swimming memberships. However, earlier this year, leisure centres reported a boom in the number of new members prompted by the changes.

david.coulter@hexham-courant.co.uk