PRICES at several North Hertfordshire swimming pools are set to increase next week, with family and casual-use individual tickets to be hit particularly badly.

Hitchin Swimming Centre, North Herts Leisure Centre in Letchworth GC and Letchworth Outdoor Pool will all see the prices of various tickets upped from April 1.

An off-peak ticket at Hitchin will soar from �2.90 to �4.10, an increase of 70 per cent, and peak fares will rise from �3.80 to �4.60. Prices for concessions will increase too.

Family tickets will also jump substantially at the centre, with a family of four paying up to �3.50 more for a ticket than usual. And a family of three can expect to pay �2 more for a ticket during off-peak hours.

Fares will also increase for lane hires, party hire, spectators, and lessons in Hitchin.

Letchworth GC won’t escape the hikes either, as its North Herts Leisure Centre is increasing all its prices across the board too.

Adult and concession peak and off peak tickets will rise, with a family ticket rising by up to �1.50.

Cllr Ian Knighton, NHDC portfolio holder for leisure said: “Despite this increase we will still be effectively subsidising each individual using the facilities.

“These new charges decrease the burden on the council tax payer, who might not be using our pool, and offsetting that by increasing the amount people pay each time they use the facilities.

“Hopefully residents will agree that this is a fairer way of spreading the costs of running our pools.

“All in all, the price of swimming in North Herts remains competitive with neighbouring districts.”

Increases in fares continue in the summer when Letchworth Outdoor Pool opens.

The venue will see the same difference to its prices as the Hitchin Swimming Centre, with the exception of spectators, which are included in entry prices.

The decision to increase the prices across the board was a joint decision by NHDC and Stevenage Leisure Ltd, the company which manages the centres.