Students offered cut-price council gym deal

The university sports centre, which includes a gym and sports courts, will close to make way for the medical school

Thousands of students in Wolverhampton are to be offered cut-price memberships at council-run gyms as a university sports facility closes.

The University of Wolverhampton has already announced it is to shut its city campus sports centre as part of plans to develop a new medical school.

It is also closing its Telford campus to cut costs, with students transferred to Wolverhampton and Walsall campuses.

City of Wolverhampton Council said it had reached a deal with the university to offer students discounted £10 monthly gym memberships at facilities in Aldersley, Bilston and the city centre.

The existing concessionary for students is at the higher cost of £13.20 a month, while the university gym memberships is priced at £12 a month.

The subscription would include access to classes and swimming, with additional half-price off-peak court fees available to students with an WV Active membership.

In addition, the council said it would offer social sports sessions and off-peak concessionary rates to university teams displaced by the closure.

Last year, the city campus sports centre had 13,000 visits and 155 registered student members.

Sports facilities are to remain at the university's Walsall campus, but the removal of student transport between the campuses means students may be less likely to use them.

The facilities in Walsall include a 3G football pitch, sports halls, football and international standard Futsal areas, a 200m sprint track and tennis and netball courts, as well as a fitness suite and weights room.

Around 4,000 of the university's 27,000 students live in Wolverhampton.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.