The Centre: Slough customer angry about mess at £18m leisure centre

The customer, who wanted to remain anonymous, said toilets were left unflushed

A council-owned leisure centre has blamed a shortage of cleaning staff after a customer complained about mess.

The Centre in Slough cost £18m and opened in March 2019 as part of a project part-run by debt-ridden Slough Borough Council.

A customer complained that floors were stained by "black dirt", that there was mould in the steam room and toilets were left unflushed.

The company that runs The Centre said it is recruiting more cleaners.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said parts of the the leisure centre had been "left untouched" for months when concerns were first raised in January.

A leisure centre user, who wanted to remain anonymous, said nothing had changed since the start of the year.

He said: "We keep getting told it's 'a work in progress and please bear with us'.

"It's not one of those things they should take lightly, this is health and safety.

"They need to be either closed down or reprimanded somehow because they shouldn't be operating like this."

The Centre should be "closed down or reprimanded" for its cleanliness, the customer said

Luke Routhorn, a contract manager for Everyone Active, said it is looking to hire more cleaners, with two starting work in the next few weeks.

But he said a national shortage of cleaners has made recruitment difficult.

"They will manage the cleaning processes, alongside our lifeguards and duty manager, who are also responsible for ensuring the centre is kept both clean and tidy," he said.

"This includes carrying out regular deep cleans of specific areas of the site on rotation.

"We apologise if expectations have not yet been met. We want to reassure customers that we are addressing the concerns and would encourage them to report any issues when they find them, so we can act immediately and prioritise the cleanliness of the site."

The leisure centre includes a 25m, eight-lane swimming pool with a viewing gallery, another 15m by 10m teaching pool, a four-court sports hall, a 115-station gym, three exercise studios, treatment rooms and a cafe.

It was built by Slough Urban Renewal, a project run by the council and Muse Developments.