A petition has been launched calling on South Hams District Council (SHDC) to review its contract with a firm running a leisure centre in Totnes following a deluge of complaints from customers.

The running of Totnes Pavilion by firm Fusion Lifestyle has been heavily criticised over alleged insanitary conditions, including dirty changing rooms, slime-covered floors and mouldy shower walls, as reported in this paper last week.

The long-standing issues came to a head last month following a Facebook post that included a set of unsightly photos, sparking a huge response from irate customers, echoing the view that the centre is not fit for purpose.

Since then, the sauna has also reportedly broken down.

In response, Totnes resident Chris Hall has launched a petition on Change.Org, calling for “a full review” of SHDC’s contract with Fusion and possible alternative providers which might be “better equipped to manage the centre and deliver improvements”.

Explaining the reason for launching the petition, Mr Hall said he wanted to safeguard the centre because it was “a cornerstone of the community”, saying that the ongoing problems at the pavilion “have left many of us disheartened”.

He said: “Sometimes I walk out of there feeling a bit worse psychologically than when I went in, because it can be so disgusting.”

He told this paper that he had contacted South Devon MP Caroline Voaden for support and reached out to local schools, sports clubs and community groups “to join in a united call for major improvements”.

As the paper went to press, almost 450 people have so far signed the petition, which went live on December 7.

Fusion, which runs more than 35 leisure centres throughout England, including four in the South Hams, has been at the centre of controversy in recent years, with a number of councils either cancelling their contracts with the firm over mismanagement issues or threatening to do so.

Mr Hall added: “It’s worth noting that members at Totnes pay the same fees as users at Fusion’s refurbished facilities in Ivybridge and Kingsbridge, yet Totnes remains in a far poorer condition.”

He pointed out that a £1.5 million loan deal from SHDC to fund “desperately needed renovations” reportedly fell through due to Fusion’s financial instability, leaving the centre without critical investment and much needed upgrades.

However, the involvement of a Totnes-based charity in the running of the leisure centre remains unclear.

According to SHDC, Fusion took over operations in 2017 in partnership with the swimming charity, Tadpool. However, a spokesperson for the charity told this paper that it has not been involved in its running since 2018.

Mr Hall, who described the contract as “a complicated situation”, stressed that Tadpool’s volunteers had done an “incredible” job over decades, but added that the current arrangement between the two “may need to evolve” to ensure the centre’s long-term viability.

Fusion Lifestyle was asked to provide details of an operational plan it says it has in place to improve the leisure centre.