MEMBERS of Christie Miller sports centre have expressed their frustration at the poor condition of the gym, following continued damage caused by the leaking roof.
Following heavy rain on Saturday 9th September, water leakage from the roof caused an electrical fault, resulting in loss of lights to the upper level of the gym.
Due to the lack of lighting, the area, that is home to free weights, resistance machines and a stretching area, was closed to the public whilst the gym waited for Wiltshire Council to repair the fault.
The area re-opened four days later on Wednesday 13th September after staff at Christie Miller purchased industrial lamps as a temporary solution to illuminate the gym. Almost three weeks later, there is still no news as to when or if the council will repair the lighting and the roof.
Member of Christie Miller, Michael Saunders said, “As a member of the Christie Miller centre in Bowerhill, I along with many others have commented for several years on the leaking roof and attendant water damage to the internal fabric of the gym area of the building, but to no avail.
“I appreciate that it is very easy to be critical and the local authority may have their budgets stretched, but surely someone can authorise work to reduce or stop the roof leaking every time it rains and subsequently ‘pours water’ not just drips, into the upper floor of the gym.
“There are a great deal of gym users and I am sure that if this facility was run as a business it would be in far better order to meet with the members’ wellbeing as opposed to continual inadequate patching up.
“All credit to the staff at the centre who work hard to capture the water with containers and constantly wipe the floors dry, although they appear to have no support from the local authority whilst maintaining the local authorities premises.
“Overall the facilities at Christie Miller are very good given the age and design of the building and the recently installed LED lighting and re-sanded floor in the badminton hall is excellent, but please will someone at the local authority have the courage to do something with the roof, as apart from water pouring in when it rains, there are now no ceiling lights working and users have to rely on workshop lights on stands for illumination in the gym.”
A Wiltshire Council spokesperson said, “We apologise for any inconvenience caused by these issues, and can assure people we are doing everything we can to keep the gym in a useable condition until the new facilities are available in the Melksham Health and Wellbeing Centre at the Melksham House site.
“The council will continue to carry out cost-effective repairs so people can still use the gym.”
