FACILITIES at a Maldon leisure centre have not been improved despite managers saying they would be looked into two months ago, it is claimed.

Customers of Blackwater Leisure Centre have claimed its swimming facilities are poor, with showers remaining ice cold and the pool temperature not being maintained properly.

The Standard reported in January that users of the centre were concerned the swimming area was neglected with showers not working, the changing areas being dirty and the pool not being heated.

The centre is run jointly by Places for People and Maldon District Council. The council stated in January that they had received negative feedback regarding their swimming facilities and would be looking into the concerns.

But Maldon resident Freeda Watson, 66, claims nothing has been done to improve the facilities.

Ms Watson regularly uses the pool at Blackwater to exercise her leg, which she has had to have operations on, making it harder to use. Swimming helps to her to move her leg better.

She said: “I’ve been going to the centre to swim for about a year and a half, and in the last few months it’s gotten a lot worse in there.

“Money has been pumped into the gym and cycling studios, and they’ve promised improvements to showers and the pool, but there haven’t been any.

“The showers have no heat at all, you can barely stand them for more than a few seconds.

“When we had the cold and snow earlier this year, it would still be warmed outside than it was in the pool.

“It was so cold I couldn’t swim in it.”

Freeda said her and fellow swimmers inform staff each week about the problems to no avail.

She added: “I was waiting to talk to a receptionist, who stated to another customer that they hadn’t had any complaints that day, which implies they’re getting them daily.

“I really want them to take action now. It’s getting more and more frustrating.”

A Blackwater Leisure Centre spokesman said: “In order to improve our customers experience we upgraded the showers earlier this year.

“Although we are still working within industry guidelines a technical fault has meant that our customers may have noticed a slight drop in the pool temperature however we are working with our contractors to resolve this matter as soon as possible.

“Cleaning remains high priority for us, we investigate any customer comments and amend our procedures accordingly to ensure we achieve the highest standards which both our customers and we expect.”

Richard Holmes, Director of Customers and Community for MDC, said: “Customer feedback is important to us and where concerns are raised we work with the centre’s management Places for People Leisure to address the issues. Hundreds of people enjoy visiting the centre every day and it is important we listen and work hard to make sure the facilities are kept at the high standard expected by our customers and ourselves.’’