Virgin Active Chiswick Resolves Row With Members

Club agrees to compensate for lack of facilities during renovation

Members of the Virgin Active gym in Chiswick Park have resolved the row with the club management over the lack of facilities during refurbishment work. The club has offered compensation by way of extra credit to members for the lack of a pool, sauna or steam room while the work continues this summer.

Several members had been unhappy with an offer from Virgin to allow them to use Acton, Hammersmith and Ealing clubs while the Chiswick facilities were out of use. They were also told they could use the facilities in Twickenham, but many said they did not want to have to travel outside Chiswick Park.

"Should we pay full price at Virgin Active Chiswick when for three months there will be no swimming pool, sauna or steam room this summer?" they asked on a Facebook page.

Christian Ward who set up a Facebook page and Twitter campaign to bring members together on the issue, said he was glad that "after much fighting Virgin Active have finally come to their senses."

The club have promised to communicate the news on compensation with posters at the gym, text messages and emails to all members.

Virgin said in a statement today : “We’ve been working hard to keep disruption to a minimum during the improvement work at Chiswick Park, and have kept our members informed about the options available to them during the refurbishment. This includes the ability to freeze membership, to access nearby Virgin Active clubs and to receive credit when using the club, if access to certain facilities is restricted. We thank our members for their patience during this time and look forward to opening the new facilities very soon.”

Chiswick Park has some of the top companies in the world including QVC, Starbucks, Disney and Aker Solutions. Many of the club's membership is drawn from its 6,000 plus workforce.

June 26, 2014