excellent news. Proof that after 4 months of operation their business plans have failed miserably - just as we have been predicting.

I'm sure the majority of councillors are going to be very unhappy about this performance. In the March 07 Annual Audit and Inspection Letter

http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/aal/data/2006/lg/108542.pdf

the Audit commission said :-

"The Council continues to develop a rigorous approach to value for money."

Unless something is done to turn around the situation quickly I cant see how they could say the same about Tower Hamlets performance in March 2008 and beyond.

The Audit Commission now have quantative evidence demonstrating how a significant publicly funded facility has dramatically failed to deliver services to those who need it. The pricing and "Spa" mentality with its elitist, uptight approach to the provision  of  basic Turkish and Russian bathing facilities is totally misaligned with the real needs of the 200,000  plus  inhabitants of the borough.

If such performance continues the total number for the year will be 12,360.(and I agree with Paul that its likely to fall still further as  the  initial curiosity wears  off and the facilities are not maintained due to a lack of revenue)  Even if you assume there are no visitors from out side the borough  this represents a pitiful 6% of the boroughs population.

• 6% assumes 1 visit per year. Once ever 2 weeks would be a more realist average - that would mean that only 0.24% use the baths regularly.
• Even that abysmal figure is suspect! The Audit Commission identifies Tower Hamlets high on the list of the most economically and socially deprived areas in the country . How many of the  locals can afford £20 a visit ?  Probably more than 20% of those paying the full £20 have been attracted by the expensive media campaign from outside the borough. If 20% come from outside Tower Hamlets the figure drops still further to 0.2% of locals visiting the baths once a fortnight.

2 people out of every 1000 Tower Hamlets residents use the baths once a fortnight!

Given the proof that the business plan has failed so decisively over the first 4 months of operation I think we need to make the full council aware of how business can be increased and services restored to a higher  percentage of the population.

Pat Harragan has already addressed the full council on this and had a sympathetic hearing  -  the publishing of the  above figures followed. We should now  build on this with a proposal to the council that clearly explains what needs to be changed and why in order to boast sales.

I would suggest that  

•  The price is reduced to £10 for non-concessionary customers.

and that 2 days a week - 1 for women, 1 for men:-

• The previous clothing optional rule is re-instated.
• The tradition of customers schmiesing each other is brought back.
• The time limits are removed.

This will allow our views to be tested and the expected rise in revenue will be achieved without any costly advertising.

Please check my figures. If you have a better, clearer way of expressing them please share it with the group.

Your comments on next steps please !

Best Regards Mark

Hello, back by popular demand... ahem. Anyway, thought
you'd all like to see the attendance figures for York
Hall from 13 May - 12 August. That's 121 days.
Total number of people who attended: 4120
Sound a lot to you? Sounds disastrous to me. That
works out at just 34 people a day! Have the council
and GLL spent over a million pounds and pissed off its
former clientele for the sake of 34 people a day?
What's more, their income was only about £50k for
those 3 months (1512 of those 4120 who visited the
lovely aroma spa were concessionary use). Please
remember that before the council brought in the luxury
hotel decorators, York Hall baths were bringing in
about 1000 people A WEEK! (That's from the official
figures and doesn't include all those taxi drivers who
used to sneak in without paying...).
The management is probably hoping that the winter will
bring in the punters but it's just as likely that
numbers have peaked - boosted by the curious and the
incredulous.
I shall of course be writing to the guys who thought
up this crackpot scheme to turn the place into a
ponced up beauty salon and ask them if they would like
to consider their positions. Stay tuned.
Paul

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