Inside Olympia Leisure Centre
Michael Kenwood, Local Democracy Reporter
Today at 10:00
Single-parent families in Belfast are to get discounted membership at council leisure facilities, in what is believed to be a first for Northern Ireland.
At the January meeting of the full Belfast Council, the chamber approved a motion from SDLP’s Gary McKeown for the discount at the city’s 17 leisure facilities.
Families with one parent have been previously charged the same as those with two.
The full council ratified a decision made behind closed doors at the council’s people and communities committee.
No details of the new pricing have been provided. The minutes reveal that a 5% increase would be applied to the cost of family membership for 2025/26, as opposed to the proposed 10.4% increase.
While Belfast Council owns and maintains leisure centres, they are run by “social enterprise” company GLL under the ‘Better’ brand. The council states: “GLL is a charitable social enterprise that reinvests all profits back into the centres that it operates. It is the largest public leisure centre operator in the UK and manages over 150 leisure centres.”
Councillor Gary McKeown outside Belfast’s Olympia leisure centre
After the full council meeting, Mr McKeown said: “I was shocked to discover that only families with two parents or guardians are eligible to apply for discounted family membership, while single parent families can’t get any discount and have to pay the same fee as families with two parents. This is wrong, as all families should be able to enjoy discounted access.
“Belfast City Council leisure facilities should be as open and accessible as possible, so I brought an urgent proposal to create a new discounted membership rate for single parent families so that more people can avail of council leisure centres and swimming pools at a reduced cost.
“I’m pleased that this has been passed by the council and will now be implemented.
“With many families under financial pressure, it’s more important than ever that we try to reduce the impact of this where possible, and help support people to enjoy the benefits that exercise can provide for both physical and mental health without it being cost-prohibitive.”
At the meeting, SDLP councillor Carl Whyte said: “I think we are the first council in Northern Ireland to now offer a single parent membership option at its leisure facilities, in line with the National Trust and lots of other tourist organisations, holiday providers such as TUI and Thomas Cook.”