Increasing prices at High Life Highland is 'necessary to avoid closure of facilities and services'
THE price of the Highlife membership which gives access to gyms and swimming pools is set to rise following Highland Council’s cut in funding for High Life Highland.
The increased charges, which will apply from Monday, will add £1 to the Highlife family membership card and 60p for individual card holders.
High Life Highland said prices were static for the last three years for individual members and for the last two years for family membership.
The charity, set up by the council in 2011 to run leisure and cultural services, said its savings target for 2019/20 is more than £1.3 million.
This is made up of a reduction in management fee from the council of more than £400,000 as well as the national pay negotiations for its 1200 staff.
A spokesman said the outcome of the national pay negotiations coming into force on Monday, together with increases in the minimum wage, is an increase of £870,000 to the charity's staffing budget.
He said: “In order to meet the savings target while minimising the effect on services, a wide range of income generation options and efficiencies have been implemented. Increasing prices has been necessary to avoid closure of facilities and services.”
During a council budget setting meeting in February, High Life Highland came out better than expected after the SNP negotiated a rise in membership cost of £1 or less which took £205,000 off the original £610,000 proposed cut.
