Mums will fight Beau Sejour plans to trim loss on creche
Thursday 15th July 2010, 1:00PM BST.
Beau Sejour creche users, left to right, Louise Smith and Barnabas, 1, Mich Welbourne, Becky Cooper with Florrie, 1, and Ed, 3, Nadia Newton with Raef, 1, and Sophia, 2, Rachel Smith and Claire Gregory with 18-month-old Eva. Mrs Gregory is leading opposition to cost-cutting measures. (Picture by Steve Sarre, 0997999)
USERS of Beau Sejour’s creche facility are campaigning against planned service cuts and price rises of more than 80%.
Anger surfaced after a meeting at Beau Sejour at which about 40 parents were told that the rates per half-hour of creche use would rise from 80p to £1.50 for Freedom members, £1.10 to £2 for Choice members and £1.90 to £3.50 for non-members.
Creche users were also told that the facility’s afternoon service would be dropped, with opening now restricted to mornings.
Mother-of-three Claire Gregory, 36, said the changes – which will be implemented this autumn – would hit hardest poor families who could not afford to become Beau Sejour members.
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Doubling the price is ridiculous! Especially for parents of more than one child. The creche is most popular when classes are on at the same time so i would agree that it should close in the early afternoon but then re-open in the later afternoon according to demand. If the price has to increase then at least add some clause in to substantially decrease the fee for the 2nd and 3rd child to offset the cost otherwise it will not be affordable.
The bottom line is that if it weren’t for the creche i along with many others would not be a member of Beau Sejour. There will also be flow on effects to other areas – consider the impact on the cafe which many use for coffee and lunch afterwards.
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It’s about time Beau Sejour was either shut down or sold to the private sector. It has always been a ‘white elephant’ where the user has never paid the full running costs. It has run at a loss since it’s inception in the mid 70′s despite assurances given at the time.
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Could someone explain to me if they can why the charges at Beausejour are so ridiculously overpriced when it is already funded by us taxpaying citizens?
£1.90 to £3.50 for non-members PER HALF HOUR! I cannot believe that is the cost! So on average a mum will leave their child there for say 3hours? which will be £21 if you are not a member!! unbelievable.
I went into beausejour the other day to find out how i go about joining one of their classes once or twice a week.
I was told it was £6 a class which is 45 minutes which i thought was a tad over priced but could accept that I’d just take the class once a week.
The lady then proceeded to tell me that unless i became a member (which would involve me paying hundreds of pounds a year to do one class a week) i could not really partake in the classes as all the spots were taken up by members!
So the question really i’m asking is how is fair that i’m paying for Beausejour with my tax every month but when i want to join a class i can’t unless i pay hundreds of pounds to become a member?
i would never swim there either at a whopping £3.90 just to use the pool!!
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How shortsighted of the management. They will loose more than save by customers cancelling membership or not using the facilities.
As to Stone de Croze`s comments – If you close centre tell what will happen to the Eisteddford,
Cardio rehab, swim school, softball, GADOC, Ju -jitsu, 5 a side soccer, concerts and shows, trades fair, lifefit doctor referal scheme, holiday club for kids, disabled fitness, Ron Short centre, volleyball, etc etc plus its planned use as an emergency site in case of a major disaster. If privatised prices would sky rocket and alot of events vanish.
Like virtually all leisure/civic venues in the world it will never make a profit. It is there as a public ammenity (as is the Castle, Museum, Bathing Pools. Saumarez Park etc and none of them make a profit).
If the Ststes want to cut costs there are better ways instead of picking on the easy targets – how about scrap zero 10, increaee income tax on rich, get rid of a few of the `chiefs`, increase fines expodentiently on criminals and banish serious offenders ,
cut benefits to scroungers,have paid parking, don`t host summits, plus we have a Chief Minister, a Bailiff, and a Governor – overkill I think; get rid of two of them.
Best of luck to Mrs Gregory and her friends and with luck this idea will be abandonded in favour of a more sensible approach. The Centre is under pressure to minimize costs but this is a mistake.
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I’m not surprised at all:
The attitude of some of those who dwell there; I nearly said work,
They have an attitude of ‘take it or leave it’
When the place was thought out as usual a load of gaff was told to the people.’
Words like It’s for the public generally, and all will be able to enjoy themselves,
It is for benefit particularly designed for mothers with small children.
That’s the sort of people who now control Guernsey, the sooner election comes around, the better, let’s have people who care, people who do not make pleasure trips at the Islands expense, There are hundreds of things to be done, let us have people who will think of their fellow Islanders instead of themselves.
Let’s get this Sewage and waste business as a priority; we’ve had enough talk and meetings, do something or get out and let people in who will get things done, stop whimpering and try to be men- not slobbering misfits as you seem to most Islanders.
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