Leisure centre lift lies broken for months in Milton Keynes - and there's still no sign of repair date
A vital lift at a city leisure centre has been broken and unusable for months, making visits difficult for disabled people and parents with buggies.
And, to make matters worse, there is no sign of a repair date – with the council stating it will be fixed some time “in the coming months".
The lift is at Bletchley Leisure Centre and takes people from the car park into the main building.
The centre, owned by MK City Council, is currently being run privately by Serco Leisure and its partner, the More Leisure Community Trust, on a 16 month lease that started last November.
It was a short-term arrangement while the city council considered options for the long-term operation of its leisure facilities, and the companies took over from the previous operator, InspireAll, who had managed the centre since 2009.
This week furious town councillor Ray Blackman slammed the new arrangement and demanded to know why the lift had been out of action for so long, saying the issue raises “serious questions about transparency, responsibility, and public trust”.
He said: “For months now, the lift at BLC has remained out of service, effectively excluding disabled residents, the elderly, and families with young children from fully accessing this publicly-funded facility.
"Despite repeated efforts from local residents to obtain clear information, MKCC has remained conspicuously silent, refusing to issue a public statement or provide a timeline for repair.”
Cllr Blackman added: “This lack of engagement has been compounded by misleading or evasive comments from ward councillors. In some cases, constituents have been told to submit formal Freedom of Information (FOI) requests just to get basic answers, a shameful deflection from those elected to represent and advocate on our behalf. FOI requests should be a last resort, not the default response to reasonable public questions.
“Worse still, MKCC has failed to address key issues around the dilapidations and performance bond — legally and contractually significant elements meant to protect the public interest when private operators manage public facilities. These safeguards are designed to ensure that any exit by a contractor or service provider does not leave the site in a state of disrepair, or leave the Council (and by extension, the taxpayer) to pick up the bill.
"That these provisions appear to have been ignored or brushed aside is unacceptable, and warrants full public scrutiny.”
He concluded: “This is no longer simply about a broken lift; it is about a broken system. MKCC’s refusal to engage, its failure to uphold its Public Sector Equality Duty, and its lack of enforcement around contractual safeguards is a dereliction of duty to the residents it serves.”
The Citizen asked MK City Council for an explanation. Their spokesperson told us: We’re currently preparing a new contract for Bletchley Leisure Centre, which includes a project to repair the car park lift. We’ve put measures in place in the meantime, including increasing the number of disabled parking bays on the ground floor.”
When we pressed for an exact date that the lift would be repaired, the spokesperson replied: “In the coming months”.