After reading some real horror stories from people trying to cancel membership I did some research to see what the best way to do this is. What I found was a Fitness First Cancellation Letter Template from Choice Magazine.
This letter includes all the details required to satisfy the contract requirements.
I handed the letter into the gym and was contacted 4 days later stating that the last payment would be taken in 3 weeks time. The contract would be canceled at the end of the current month.
I was not required to have a meeting with a Customer Service Representative at the club however I was contacted via telephone to ask the reason for cancellation and ask if I would like to transfer the membership to somebody else.
After the three weeks had elapsed I checked the bank account and the final amount was taken. It is now half-way through the next month and there have been no further debits from my bank account.
I encourage anybody who wishes to terminate their Fitness First contract to use the letter template from the Choice website.
Edit: I have updated the link to the letter. Choice Magazine have changed their site structure since I wrote the post. If this disappears again a link to the article about gym contracts is here. Alternatively, you should be able to search the Choice web-site for Gym Contracts.