00:00I'm incredibly worried. I mean, it's going to make a fundamental difference to my life
00:04and to a lot of people I know who probably need it even more than I do.
00:09Hot and bothered over losing their all-gender sauna and steam room.
00:15These premium members here at the Strood Leisure Centre shell out 40 quid a month for access
00:21to a communal health suite. But those council-run facilities are being shut down in favour of
00:28fitness opportunities for young people and smaller private sauna pods.
00:33For premium members, losing the health suite here isn't just about losing access to facilities
00:40but also losing a community that's built up over years.
00:47I know these people for two years. We exchange conversations about problems, life, work and all sorts of things.
00:55So it would be really sad.
00:56The problem is they're taking away a social hub for people that only have this as a social network,
01:02suffer with anxiety and taking that away from them and separating male to female in 2026 I think is a
01:10pooling.
01:10I would feel isolated. Everybody here, we just really get on and we're going to lose that.
01:16And that's such a shame and really sad.
01:19Medway Council say these closures were a business decision made by the sports management team.
01:27And while there was no period of formal consultation with members, the authorities says the aim of these plans
01:34is to ensure the sports centre meets current and future demand.
01:38But with some users now considering cancelling their memberships, the anger here is showing no sign of losing steam.
01:49Oli Leader in Strood
01:50å¦‚æžœä½ WettAN
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