We’re making an important improvement to your booking experience at
Your Space Dearneside and Your Space Pontefract and we wanted to let you know what’s changing, when it’s happening, and what you need to do next.
Over the past few years, we know the booking process hasn’t always felt as smooth as it should. Thank you for your patience and for all the feedback you’ve shared along the way. We’ve listened and we’re now making a major positive change.
What’s changing?
From Tuesday 2nd December, all Group Exercise bookings at Your Space Dearneside and Your Space Pontefract will move back to the Your Space App.
For many members, this will feel familiar. If you’ve never used the Your Space App for bookings before, don’t worry, we’ve included simple steps further down this page to get you set up.
This change means a more reliable, more stable, and more familiar booking experience, just as it used to be.
Then, from Tuesday 9th December, the brand-new upgraded version of the Your Space App will automatically roll out. This update brings easier navigation, smoother booking, personalisation, and a much improved digital experience.
Key dates
From Tuesday 2nd December
All classes will be booked through the current Your Space App
Booking times remain the same: 7 days in advance at 7am
From Tuesday 9th December
Your app will automatically update to the new Your Space App
No action needed – your login remains exactly the same
Do I need to do anything?
If you already have the Your Space App
You’re ready to go. Simply open the app on 2nd December and your classes will appear as normal. Your login details will stay exactly the same.
If you don’t have the app yet
You’ll need to download it from the App Store or Google Play and create a quick account before 2nd December.
If you download it now, you’ll automatically receive the new upgraded version on 9th December – no extra steps required.
Why this is good news
A smoother, more reliable booking experience
A platform many members preferred
Bookings that work consistently
A major digital upgrade arriving on 9th December
Personalised training plans and tracking (from 9th December)
One single app for your complete Your Space experience
Need help?
Our team in club will be happy to support you with:
logging in
downloading the app
what to expect on 2nd or 9th December
a walkthrough of the new app once it launches
We’re here to make the transition as smooth as possible. If you have any questions, just speak to a member of the team on your next visit.
COMMUNITY leisure trust BPL’s commitment to sustainability has been strengthened with the completion of two energy saving projects at its flagship facility, Barnsley Metrodome.
Thanks to a grant worth £500,000, awarded by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council via Sport England, solar panels have recently been installed across three major roof areas at Barnsley Metrodome, reducing the building’s reliance on grid electricity.
Upgrades have also been made to the facility’s AHU system where outdated motors and pulleys have been replaced with high-efficiency EC motors across all plantrooms.
Alongside this, the Building Management System – an automated system which controls the building’s energy use, heating, lighting and ventilation – has been fully upgraded and integrated to optimise the performance of the new equipment. The upgrade is expected to deliver an estimated 45 per cent reduction in electricity usage.
“The completion of these projects is another significant step in our journey towards sustainability and lowering our carbon footprint, particularly as we work towards our Carbon Management Plan to achieve net zero by 2040.
“A huge thank you to Eleck Energy Ltd, whose expertise throughout the solar panel installation process has been exceptional, also Building Air Solutions, who expertly installed and overhauled the entire fan system and Impact Controls who delivered a seamless BMS upgrade.
“Their professionalism and commitment to quality have been outstanding from start to finish.”
– Richard Bailey, Assets and Compliance Manager
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Join Your Space Gym – No Joining Fee & Contract-Free Memberships
We’ve got some exciting news to share with you! From now on, joining Your Space Gym is simpler, friendlier, and more flexible than ever before. That’s right, we’ve removed the joining fee (saving you £25 on day one) and made all our memberships contract-free. You’ll only ever pay for your first month up front, and after that, you’re free to stay for as long as it feels right for you.
Why are we doing this?
At Your Space, we believe fitness should fit around your life not the other way round. Our vision is to help people feel good, and that means keeping things simple:
Fun & Friendly: From your first hello at reception to your favourite group class, you’ll always feel welcome.
Local: Each Your Space club is part of its community, a place where neighbours, friends, and families come together.
Innovative: Whether it’s brand-new kit, fresh classes, or flexible memberships, we’re always looking for ways to make your fitness journey easier.
What this means for you
No more barriers: No joining fee. No long contracts. Just simple, flexible gym memberships.
Total flexibility: Pay monthly, cancel with 30 days’ notice if life changes.
The same feel-good experience: Gyms, pools, fitness classes, and a team ready to support you every step of the way.
So whether you’re starting fresh, coming back after a break, or looking for something more flexible, Your Space is here to help you move, feel, and live better. Find your nearest gym and start your fitness journey today.
Welcome to your Autumn BPL newsletter where we round up all the latest news and happenings across the organisation!
It’s been a busy time with some exciting awards’ success, welcoming new starters to the team with their inductions and spreading the important message of water safety to young people across Barnsley and Bassetlaw.
We’re also gearing up for Christmas and New Year, with tickets on sale now to join in all our festive fun! Read on to find out more.
Good for Employees
Our commitment to celebrating and rewarding our employees has been recognised with an award.
We took home Silver at the Employer Brand Management Awards 2025 and this win is a reflection of all the effort and hard work which goes on across the organisation.
A big thank you to everyone who makes our culture feel good, every day.
Our swimming teachers and coaches enjoyed a fun day of learning at BPL’s annual aquatics conference.
The group came together to celebrate successes and share ideas and, for the first time, the conference even included a session delivered in the pool. A warm welcome to all our new starters who have joined us recently and completed their inductions.
Welcome to the team!
Good for Customers
Excitement is building around Barnsley Metrodome’s newest attraction – Adventure Reef.
This new adventure play area will offer fun for kids of all ages from toddlers to teens, with features including a sensory room, separate play zones for younger and older age groups and a sports court for ages 8 – 19.
Thousands of children across Barnsley and Bassetlaw learned more about the importance of water safety this summer, thanks to sessions led by BPL staff.
More than 17,000 children from 70 schools took part in our Swim Safe assemblies and during Drowning Prevention Week, we delivered sessions across our sites, engaging a further 6,000 children.
Feedback from participants and schools was really positive, with plans already in the pipeline to build on the success of this year’s events in the future.
We’re delighted to have been shortlisted across four categories at two of the leisure industry’s biggest awards’ schemes.
BPL has been named as a finalist for two awards at the 2025 ukactive Awards; up for theMarketing Campaign Award for the Let’s Get Going campaign and the Organisation Innovation Award for our Let’s Get Going Healthy Mums initiative.
Let’s Get Going Healthy Mums is also shortlisted at the National Fitness Awards in the Community Involvement category, while our summer ‘win a holiday’ campaign is shortlisted for the Best Membership Campaign Award.
Good for All
Staff and members fromYour Space Dearnesidetook on a one mile sponsored swim and strength and endurance based gym challenges for National Suicide Awareness Day.
Their efforts raised over £400 for PAPYRUS – a charity which focuses on the prevention of young suicide.
Their Macmillan Coffee Morning raised over £150 for Macmillan Cancer Support.
We were proud to welcome Sports Minister Stephanie Peacock MP and ukactive CEO Huw Edwards to Your Space Dearneside to celebrate National Fitness Day.
They met with the team and saw first hand how Your Space and BPL are helping to power physical activity and support healthier communities.
It was a fantastic way to showcase the role our sector plays in helping people move more and feel good.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and we lent our support by turning the gym at Your Space Metrodome pink!
A big thank you to everyone who got involved by wearing pink and buying raffle tickets; raising awareness for such an important cause.
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Aquatics
Thousands of children across Barnsley and Bassetlaw have learned vital water safety skills this summer, thanks to sessions delivered by dedicated BPL staff.
By Your Space / BPLWater Safety & Aquatics
More than 17,000 children from 70 schools took part in BPL’s Swim Safe assemblies this summer. During Drowning Prevention Week, a further 6,000 children engaged with sessions across our sites helping raise awareness and understanding around the importance of staying safe in and around water.
“The feedback we’ve had from participants and schools has been extremely positive. Schools commented that the sessions gave children important knowledge about water safety and many teachers also said they had learned something new themselves.”
Looking ahead, Sarah says the team plans to build on this year’s success by expanding outreach, offering more in-school workshops, on-site sessions and community days to spread the water safety message even further.
“This will allow us to reach more children and help ensure they’re confident and safe around water.”
– Sarah-Leigh Dudley
Alongside outreach sessions, over 60 swimming teachers and coaches came together for BPL’s annual Aquatics Conferencea day of learning, sharing ideas, and celebrating collective achievements.
“We came together to celebrate our successes, share ideas, and continue growing as a team – all with the goal of keeping our learners engaged and inspired.”
“This year marked a first delivering part of the conference in the pool and what a success it was. The feedback from our teachers was incredible and it’s something we’ll definitely look to build on.”
– Sarah-Leigh Dudley
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Community
WE’RE delighted to have been shortlisted across four categories at two of the leisure industry’s biggest awards’ schemes.
By Your Space / BPL2025 Awards
BPL has been named as a finalist for two awards at the 2025 ukactive Awards; up for the Marketing Campaign Award for the Let’s Get Going campaign and the Organisation Innovation Award for our Let’s Get Going Healthy Mums initiative.
Let’s Get Going Healthy Mums is also shortlisted at the National Fitness Awards in the Community Involvement category, while our summer ‘win a holiday’ campaign, which gave away holidays to four lucky Your Space gym members, is shortlisted for the Best Membership Campaign Award.
The Let’s Get Going campaign is an innovative, community-focused campaign created to enhance the overall wellbeing of local residents in Barnsley and Bassetlaw.
The campaign’s goal is to encourage everyone – regardless of age or fitness level – to embrace a more active lifestyle and take a more proactive role in their physical and mental wellness.
Activities on offer across our sites as part of Let’s Get Going include sports such as walking football and new age kurling, a specialist health referral scheme and a workplace wellbeing initiative in partnership with local employees.
Healthy Mums also forms part of this – offering dedicated free activities and support for pre and postnatal mums in Barnsley.
The campaign is supported by a dedicated Let’s Get Going website and social media accounts, promoting everything that’s on offer and encouraging people to get involved.
“We’re thrilled Let’s Get Going, Let’s Get Going Healthy Mums and our successful ‘win a holiday’ summer membership campaign have been recognised at two of the industry’s biggest awards’ schemes.
“To be up for four awards in total is really exciting and we’re looking forward to both events later in the year.”
— Rachel Rinkcavage, Head of Marketing and Branding, BPL
The winners of the ukactive Awards will be announced at a ceremony on October 30 in Birmingham and the National Fitness Awards’ winners on November 28 in Leicester.
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Community
Staff and members across Your Space clubs have been out in force raising money for local charities and backing brilliant community events across Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.
By Your Space / BPLCommunity Round-Up
Recent fundraising highlights include a team from Your Space Hoyland who took on the Dragonboat Race at Manvers Lake, reaching the semi-finals and raising £2,548 for Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice.
At Your Space Dearneside, staff and members marked National Suicide Awareness Day with a one-mile sponsored swim and strength & endurance gym challenges, raising over £400 for PAPYRUS, the charity dedicated to preventing young suicide.
Operator BPL also opened its doors to host a range of events, helping raise the profile of multiple sports and showcasing inclusive opportunities to get involved. These included the Be Well @ Work 5-a-side tournament, the Yorkshire Kurling Pairs Championship, the UUKMA Yorkshire & Humber Sports Meet, and a special Wheels for All inclusive cycling session at Dorothy Hyman Sports Centre attended by Olympic gold medallist Ed Clancy.
“Our mission as a charitable trust is to engage with our local communities and help them connect and thrive.
We’re proud to host a wide range of events and showcase local sporting opportunities, as well as sponsor community moments like the Barnsley 10k, where over 45 of our staff also took part.
Supporting fundraising and community events is a key part of how we give back, helping people feel good together and love where they live.”
— Michael Hirst, Chief Executive, BPL
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Masters Swimming
BPL Masters only launched in March, and the squad is already celebrating the podium with a silver in the 4×100m relay at the British Masters Championships.
By Your Space / BPLMasters Squad Update
BPL Masters started in March and around 14 swimmers are now training together up to four times a week.
Sessions run at Your Space Retford and Your Space Worksop, sharing pool time with lane swimming. That visibility is already helping raise awareness and inspire other swimmers to give Masters a try.
Bassetlaw Swim Squad Performance Swimming Coach Liam Marshall leads the programme, supported by the wider coaching team.
“There are hardly any other clubs which provide masters squads in the Bassetlaw area and we wanted to give masters’ swimmers the opportunity to build on their performance and achievements within the water.
It’s going really well. We’ve got members from all different backgrounds and everyone seems to be enjoying themselves.”
– Liam Marshall, Head Coach (Masters)
At the recent British Masters Championships at the London Aquatics Centre, our 4×100m relay team stormed to a silver medal.
“The squad did amazingly well at the championships. I went down with them and what an atmosphere it was to experience.”
– Liam Marshall
Masters’ squad members Leanne and Steph also took on the challenge of the Open Water National Masters Championships at Rother Valley Country Park. Leanne competed in the 3,000m and 1,000m events, while Steph tackled the 3,000m.
They both performed brilliantly and, while they didn’t medal this time, completing those distances outdoors is an achievement to be proud of.
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Welcome to your summer BPL newsletter where we round up all the latest news and happenings across the organisation!
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been busy welcoming new team members, celebrating some milestones with long-serving staff and taking part in lots of local events to raise funds and awareness for many causes we care about.
We’ve also given away holidays to four lucky Your Space members who were the winners of our big summer competition!
Read on to find out how we’re helping our communities feel good!
Good for Employees
Congratulations to our Facility Manager Rob Brooks who has completed over 30 years of service!
Thank you Rob – and well done on reaching this amazing milestone!
A warm welcome to all our new starters who completed their inductions over the past few weeks.
These include Brandon, who has joined the Metrodome as a leisure attendant; Ffion, Emilee and Hannah who have started fitness and front of house roles at Your Space Pontefract and Jacqui, who has made the leap from Your Space member to becoming a fitness instructor and joined the team at Your Space Hoyland.
Our Aquatics Development Officer Joanne has celebrated 35 years of working at Retford Leisure Centre.
Joanne started swimming for Retford Swimming Club and then went on to be a lifeguard, swimming teacher and lifesaving teacher at Retford before starting her current role in 2018.
Thank you Joanne for all your hard work over the years!
Good for Customers
Congratulations to our ‘win a summer holiday campaign’ winners – Nic, Michael, Mark and Kelly!
Throughout June, we gave away holidays to four Your Space members, who scanned QR codes placed at our sites to gain entry into a prize draw.
Our lucky winners will now enjoy trips to Ibiza, Turkey, Centre Parcs and Budapest.
Olympic Gold Medallist and South Yorkshire’s Active Travel Commissioner Ed ClancyOBE saw first hand the incredible work being done to promote inclusive cycling when he attended a Wheels for All session at Dorothy Hyman Sports Centre.
Wheels for All sessions are designed to empower individuals of all ages and abilities to experience the joy of cycling using specially adapted bikes.
A big thank you to Ed for your support and for coming along to meet our amazing participants.
We’re proud to support professional squash player Asia Harris through our FANS scheme for talented athletes.
Asia, who is ranked number 72 in the world, is a member at Your Space Pontefract and attends the gym and classes several times a week.
She said she enjoys the club’s clean, friendly environment and welcoming staff.
We’re hosting a range of swimming crash courses and fun activities in our pools over the summer holidays.
Check out our social media pages for details of what’s coming up over the next few weeks.
Great Delivery
We’re thrilled to have achieved an 85 per cent Leading in Sustainability score – the highest score to date achieved by any organisation – emphasising our commitment to minimising our impact on the environment.
Through support from Net Zero Barnsley, we received a Sustainability Scorecard from Profit Impact B Corp to help us understand our progress towards developing a culture of sustainability.
BPL has been honoured with the NCA Young Carer Friendly Award by the Nottinghamshire Carers Association.
The award celebrates our dedication to creating a supportive environment for young carers, ensuring they are identified and receive the assistance they need.
We’re looking for passionate, strategic thinkers to join our board as trustees and help shape the future of our charitable trust.
If you have experience in business, finance, law, marketing or community development and want to make a real difference in local health and wellbeing, we would love to hear from you.
To find out more or apply, email headoffice@bpl.org.uk
Good for All
We had a great day at the Barnsley 10k where Your Space was proud to be the headline sponsor.
Over 45 members of staff came together to take part in this fantastic community event.
The feel good factor was sky high and we can’t wait to do it all again next year!
Our brand new Derek the Dolphin mascot made his debut as 100 years of Langold village was celebrated with a family centenary walk.
A huge thank you to our staff from Worksop Leisure centre who were also on hand to offer valuable water safety advice at the event.
It was great to see so many local businesses getting involved once again this year.
A big shout out to Your Space Bircotes who raised £310 for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) from their yummy bake sale.
A big thank you to everyone who helped with organising and donating homemade treats.
BPL’s Luke Walker, Mark Goodhead and Anne Nixon laced up their boots to tackle a 31k charity walk.
Well done to them and everyone taking part who raised vital funds for Barnsley Hospice.
Metrodome swim teacher Rob and his daughter Isabelle embarked on the epic Great North Swim in Keswick to raise money for Barnsley Hospital’s paediatric unit.
Since 2013, Rob has raised £14,000 for charity – an amazing achievement!
Your Space Hoyland are pleased to sponsor Wombwell Town Football Club’s Under 11s red team.
Best of luck to the team going forward!
A team of staff and members from Your Space Hoyland had a fantastic day at a charity Dragonboat race at Manvers Lake.
They reached the semi final of the event and raised an incredible £2,548 for Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice.
The event was opened by the Mayor and Mayoress of Barnsley and saw teams from across the region come together to celebrate sport.
Well done to Your Space Bircotes fitness instructor Jennie and friends who took part in the York 5k Race for Life.
They raised over £2,000 for Cancer Research UK.
A great time was had by everyone taking part in the Yorkshire Kurling Pairs Championship at Your Space Hoyland.
The event was opened by the Deputy Mayor and proudly sponsored by BPL.
The winners on the day were Barnsley Brigands with a team of Stephen and Frank.
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BPL Launches Water Safety Education Plans for Local Children
BPL has committed to helping over 20,000 children across the communities we serve become more informed and confident about staying safe around water.
As part of this goal, our team will be visiting local schools to deliver engaging and age-appropriate assemblies focused on water safety—just in time for the summer holidays.
“Drowning is one of the leading causes of accidental death among children. Many of these tragedies are preventable through simple education and preparation.
By equipping children with practical knowledge and techniques, we empower them to enjoy the water safely—whether at the beach, pool, or local lakes and rivers.”
Sarah-Leigh Dudley, Aquatics Operational Manager at BPL
We also plan to involve children already enrolled in our swimming lessons by participating in Drowning Prevention Week, where they will be able to practice essential life-saving skills, such as learning the SAFE code, swimming in clothes and learning how to Float to Live.
These activities help children prepare for real-life scenarios and build their confidence in and around water.
“Our aim is to significantly reduce the risk of drowning by ensuring young people understand the dangers of open water, know how to act in an emergency, and develop the skills needed to keep themselves and others safe.
Through this initiative, we hope to build a generation of water-aware young people who respect the water, know how to respond in an emergency, and spread the message of safety throughout their families and communities.”
Sarah-Leigh Dudley
Stay tuned for updates as we continue working towards safer, more confident swimmers across our communities.
