Manchester leisure centre under fire over plans to drop female-only changing space

A leisure centre in Greater Manchester has been forced to abandon plans to ditch female-only changing spaces after a backlash from women in the community. 

Sale Leisure Centre came under fire from local mums after it tweeted about plans to replace its female-only changing space with a unisex family area, the Manchester Evening News reports. 

The male changing area for men only would not be affected by the change. 

'As of Monday 4th March, Sale Leisure Centre are looking to convert our female main changing room into a family changing room,' the leisure centre said in a since-deleted tweet.

'This will allow parents/guardians to go into the family changing room with their child, regardless of their age.

'The family changing room will be unisex, with changing cubicles that must be used.

'We will maintain the male changing area for males to use for themselves if they are using the facility without a child but also if men want to take their children in (under 8s for girls) to get changed.'

But the announcement sparked a wave of angry responses after it was shared by local mother-of-two Rachel Corry. 

'Absolutely fuming that Sale Leisure and Trafford Leisure are planning on changing the women's changing rooms into family changing, while the men get to retain their own men-only space. In a time when single-sex spaces for women are under threat from every direction,' she wrote on Twitter. 

Responses to her tweet were equally critical of the move.

BBC journalist Cath Leng wrote on Twitter: 'Is that not sex discrimination under the law? Females need privacy and security as much as men do.'

Another wrote: 'This is outrageous. You should provide family changing *in addition to* not instead of women-only.'

Sale Leisure Centre has now reversed its decision after the council intervened. 

Labour Councillor for Sale Moor, Liz Patel said the leisure centre was going to hold a consultation on how best to implement family changing spaces.

'Just to confirm this decision has been revisited and after discussions with the Council, Sale Leisure centre will be retaining and male and female changing facilities and will consult on provision of family changing spaces,' she wrote on Twitter.

One woman responding on Twitter claimed to have experienced the same change at a leisure centre in Bangor, Wales.   Cyngor Gwynedd Council, who was tagged in the tweet, replied to say that the comment had been passed on 'to the relevant officer'.