Olympic diver Tom Daley will film the pilot for his celebrity diving show at Inspire: Luton Sports Centre in Stopsley, but some residents were less than inspired by the news their exercise routines would be disrupted.
Television crews will descend on the £26million Active Luton centre on Tuesday, closing the competition pool until Friday, but the rest of the centre will remain open as usual.
Announcements were made on the Active Luton Facebook page over the weekend which were largely met with disgruntled comments from members.
Scott Ashdown said: “This is ridiculous. I have paid for a year’s membership for swimming and with the recent weekend competition closing the pool for two days and now this latest proposed closure will the council be extending my membership for the days lost? These changes disrupt people’s exercise routines. Perhaps a name change to Semi Active Luton is in order.”
An Active Luton spokesman said members would not get a discount or extra months on their yearly memberships due to the pool closures.
David Watchorn said: “Active Luton is a charity, set up for the people of Luton. It should not be profit making.”
A council spokesperson said the undisclosed amount of money received for hiring the pool is intended to be re-invested in the centre.
If the pilot is successful the competition pool will be closed for 11 non-consecutive days in the New Year to film the rest of the show.
There is currently no limit to how many days the pool can be hired out privately per year. An allocation of tickets for the live shows will be set aside for Luton residents. Details of how people can apply for these tickets will be made after the pilot when the dates are confirmed.
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