Apology for family of disabled woman over broken lifts at Braywick Leisure Centre

The father of a 36-year-old disabled woman has criticised poor accessibility at Braywick Leisure Centre after broken lifts left his daughter unable to access the gym.

Albert Hunter, 70, said the ongoing lift failures made him feel able-bodied people were given ‘more priority than my daughter’.

Alexandria, from Slough, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, relies on the centre’s two lifts to reach the gym, which she has been unable to use while both are out of action.

Leisure Focus, which operates Braywick Leisure Centre on behalf of the Royal Borough council, said it had apologised to the Hunters and refunded Alexandria’s membership.

The company said it was working with the council to fix ‘long-standing defects’ to one broken lift, and a replacement part for a second lift was due to be fitted ‘by the end of this week’.

Delays to the repair were due to ‘contractors’ availability over the Christmas period’, it said.

Braywick Leisure Centre was built at a reported cost of £32.8million and opened in late 2020, following the closure of the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead town centre.

Alexandria has been using the Braywick facility for two years, including its pool for special hydrotherapy sessions as well as the gym for activities like weight training.

The Braywick Leisure Centre gym is on the building’s first-floor, but had been temporarily relocated to the ground floor while it underwent an extensive refit last year.

But when Alexandria and her father arrived to try out the revamped workout space on December 20, they were dismayed to find the two lifts used to access the gym were out of action.

Staff were unable to offer sufficient help and the Hunters left Braywick Leisure Centre distressed, uncertain when the lifts would reopen.

Alexandria’s mother, Pervin Hunter, 63, said her daughter misses using the gym as it helps ‘keep her fit and keep her occupied’. She said the experience had left the family ‘very upset’.

This week, the Hunters received an apology from Leisure Focus over problems caused by the broken lifts, and were told the company had agreed to refund Alexandria’s membership.

Leisure Focus told the Advertiser it was ‘very sorry’ for the lift problems and would ‘positively consider requests for compensation from members who rely on the lift’.

The company said it had relocated some gym classes to the ground floor while disruption was ongoing, and alternative facilities were available at its site in Windsor.

A statement from Braywick Leisure Centre said: “We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this has caused to some centre users.

“We have relocated specific group exercise classes to the ground floor and whilst alternative facilities have remained accessible at our sister leisure centre in Windsor, we will positively consider requests for compensation from members who rely on the lift.

“We take pride in making our facilities accessible to all. Indeed, a selection of the equipment installed in our newly-refitted gym is specifically designed for wheelchair users.

“We are very sorry that the lift issues have prevented customers from using them.”

The Royal Borough council was also approached for comment.