The 3 Towns Arms

[Fester]

Llandudno swimming pool amazed me today

By NOT having a swimming gala on a Saturday 

Meant I could take Dylan swimming, good time had by all!

Well I beg to differ, because I went to the gym at the swimming pool, and once again I was informed that something was on which would prevent me from having a proper swim afterwards.
This time it was ''free fun sessions''
All well and good, but its just another made up event which conspires to make the pool unavailable to me (a paying monthly member) for about 90% of the week, I'm sick of it.

[Yorkie]

Send an e-mail to Ken Finch at

ken.finch@conwy.gov.uk

telling him of your problem in the strongest language you can.  This goes for any other complaint that any reader of the Forum may have - medical problems excepted!

[Bri Roberts]

Yorkie, would it not be courteous to first write to the Manager of swimming centre with any complaints?

His details are:

Peter.Aldous@conwy.gov.uk

If you get no joy then by all means escalate the complaint.

[Yorkie]

You are absolutely correct Bri!   And in normal circumstances it would be the right thing to do.  However, Fester's last four words sum up the situation.   "I'm sick of it" he says, which to me is interpreted as "some drastic action is neccessary to sort the problem out".   

Writing to the CE (or Acting) is the best way to ensure action.  It seems the lack of swimming facilities at the pool rests from a policy decision of the management, and probably a bit higher management than the pool manager.   A wise CE will not go charging down on the pool staff but will certainly know where he needs to direct the complaint in order to provide an answer.

Personally I have put complaints in to KF  on many occasions, I get a polite reply from him, and he has then passed the complaint on to be dealt with, most times resulting in a quick and acceptable outcome, and without feathers being ruffled.

I have sent an e-mail to Peter Aldous outlining the problem and requesting a reply, so lets see what happens!   

[Yorkie]

Yorkie, would it not be courteous to first write to the Manager of swimming centre with any complaints?
If you get no joy then by all means escalate the complaint.

Would it not have been more polite to direct your criticism by way of a PM?   

If you get no result you could then flame me on the Forum! 

[Bri Roberts]

Yorkie, that was merely a suggestion and not a criticism.

I am sure us council tax payers do not want to be bothering Mr Finch every time there is a problem when our council have a laid-down complaints procedure in place.

If Fester is 'sick of it', has he complained to the management yet as he did not say?

[Bri Roberts]

Llandudno swimming pool amazed me today

By NOT having a swimming gala on a Saturday 

Meant I could take Dylan swimming, good time had by all!

FYI, I have been in the swimming pool earlier and according to the digital notice board there is no swimming gala next Saturday but there is one on the following Saturday (24 September).

Then you have another two free Saturdays until there is another swimming gala over the weekend of the 15/16 October.

I hope this helps you plan your future visits with Dylan.

All well and good, but its just another made up event which conspires to make the pool unavailable to me (a paying monthly member) for about 90% of the week, I'm sick of it.

Sorry, Fester, but I am not convinced this is correct.

There are free timetables available at the reception counter.

There is public swimming from 6.30am – 3.45pm midweek which is extended to 6pm on Mondays.

At weekends, there is usually public swimming from 7am – 3pm on Saturdays and from 9am – 3pm on Sundays.

On Monday – Thursday, there is at least another one hour public swimming in the evenings but this is extended to three hours extra on a Thursday evening.

I seem to remember there were two hours free swimming for kids on both a Monday and Wednesday afternoon throughout the school summer holidays but that has now ended. During that time, the pool was still available for public use.

When the main pool is not in public use, it is used for children's swimming lessons, performance squad, ladies only, birthday parties, canoe polo, water polo and swimming club use. That normally happens after 4pm.

According to the timetable, the fun sessions that Fester was referring to are on Saturday and Sunday afternoons between 3pm – 4pm.

[Michael]

Cutting in on the swimming pool discussion (this happens in pubs all the time) I for one am absolutely disgusted by the Chanc. of the Ex, of all politicians making very smutty remarks at a top table just to get a cheap laugh.  Well, we all know what he is now. Before we only suspected it and/or called him one. I do hope I'm not showing my age here, but I really do think this is the limit---even the thought of it fifty years ago was ----.  I never have, and never would, vote for his party, so he hasent lost a voter I am sorry to say. Mike

[Yorkie]

FYI, I have been in the swimming pool earlier and according to the digital notice board there is no swimming gala next Saturday but there is one on the following Saturday (24 September).
Then you have another two free Saturdays until there is another swimming gala over the weekend of the 15/16 October.
There are free timetables available at the reception counter.
There is public swimming from 6.30am – 3.45pm midweek which is extended to 6pm on Mondays.
At weekends, there is usually public swimming from 7am – 3pm on Saturdays and from 9am – 3pm on Sundays.
On Monday – Thursday, there is at least another one hour public swimming in the evenings but this is extended to three hours extra on a Thursday evening.
I seem to remember there were two hours free swimming for kids on both a Monday and Wednesday afternoon throughout the school summer holidays but that has now ended. During that time, the pool was still available for public use.
When the main pool is not in public use, it is used for children's swimming lessons, performance squad, ladies only, birthday parties, canoe polo, water polo and swimming club use. That normally happens after 4pm.
According to the timetable, the fun sessions that Fester was referring to are on Saturday and Sunday afternoons between 3pm – 4pm.

Post slightly edited to save space.

Thanks for the info Bri, now we all know exactly what the score is - until of course, the Council decide to change it at a moments notice!   

[Bri Roberts]

Yorkie, to be fair the management of the swimming centre do often change it to suit demand.

During a normal school day, there are two lanes reserved for local primary schools and their pupils to visit on a rota basis with their teachers to help them learn to swim but those two lanes were opened up to the public throughout the school summer holidays.

The special session held twice a week for the over 50’s was cancelled to make way for more public use during the school holidays.

Funding was withdrawn for pre-natal aqua classes so the timetable was soon adjusted.

FYI, I do not work at the swimming centre.

On a daily basis, I just try to use the gym and the swimming pool upon instructions from Dr Hannah, my cardiologist.

The management know me because if there is something genuinely wrong I am like you and I soon let them know about it and that is usually in the gym. 

[Yorkie]

I am aware you don't work at the pool and now understand your interest.  Swimming is excellent exercise and coupled with an organised cardiovascular exercise  regime is very good for the heart.  I used to go to the Junction facility for cardio exercise on Doc's recommendation as I had quad by-pass surgery in 1990.   Now do it unsupervised at home or out and about.   With that and keeping the olde cholestoral levels down I consider myself reasonably fit (for my age that is).

Three Towns Cardiac Exercise Group anyone?   

[Bri Roberts]

I had quad by-pass surgery in 1990.   

I had five. 

[Yorkie]

You can't have five as there are only four arteries!   Unless the bypasses were coupled with a (left) mammary artery graft which I also had, which makes five grafts in total!   D)   D)   D)

It is not usual for any artery to have more than one graft.

[Yorkie]

Well I beg to differ, because I went to the gym at the swimming pool, and once again I was informed that something was on which would prevent me from having a proper swim afterwards.
This time it was ''free fun sessions''
All well and good, but its just another made up event which conspires to make the pool unavailable to me (a paying monthly member) for about 90% of the week, I'm sick of it.

I wrote to Peter at the Pool and this is his reply.  Although I said it was another person's complaint he has directed his answer at me!:

QUOTE: We take all comments and complaints seriously and I am sorry that you
were disappointed during your recent visit to Llandudno Swimming Centre.

The Saturday 'Free Fun Session' forms part of Conwy's contribution to
the Welsh Government Free Swimming Initiative. This initiative is
extremely important in increasing general participation levels whilst
also having a postive impact on the health and general well being of the
community.

The swimming centre is open for a total of 92.5 hours every week, of
which 72% is available for general swimming, with the majority having
lanes available.

I appreciate there are times when people using the gym would ideally
like to follow their session with a swim. However, the very nature of
catering for the whole community makes it impossible to have the pool
available for general swimming every period of the day. We must also
cater for a number of groups/sessions including: Welsh Government Free
Swim Initiative; Swimming Lessons; Schools; Over 50's; Ladies Only;
Water Polo; Competitions and Galas. 
 
As I'm sure you can appreciate, to facilitate all the above groups is a
considerable task and to accommodate everyone requires some compromises.

I hope my response reassures you that we do out utmost to encourage as
many people as possible to use our facility and as such I sincerely hope
that our current programme is flexible enough to cater for your needs.

In the meantime should you wish to discuss this matter further then
please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind Regards,
Peter
UNQUOTE

[DaveR]

Free Swimming Initiative? Does that mean we can all go down for a free swim?