South Hams District Council and Fusion Lifestyle are delighted to welcome the phased reopening of the District’s leisure Centres.
Everyone was pleased to hear the Government announce that Leisure Centres could reopen from the 25 July, with many users keen to get back to their regular exercise. However the centre operators want to make sure that when users do return they can do so in the safest way possible. This does mean that in order to make the centres COVID-19 secure, the full reopening of the centres will take a little bit longer.
Thanks to the hard work of the Fusion staff, we are pleased to be able to provide both wet and dry activities at the Ivybridge Leisure Centre from week commencing Monday 3 August. This will include reopening the new pool, dry sports activities and the gym. Then from week commencing Monday 10 August, Fusion hope to be able to provide dry sports activities and the Gym in the Quayside Leisure centre in Kingsbridge. Fusion will confirm the exact opening dates in due course with all details around booking and the procedures they have put in place to ensure that you have a safe and enjoyable visit.
Anthony Cawley, Director of Operations at Fusion, said:“We know our leisure facilities are really important for the health and well-being of the local community and we want them open again as soon as they are safe and viable. Therefore, we are so pleased our doors are beginning to open again and together with South Hams District Council, we hope our members will bear with us whilst we implement our reopening plans and they can soon enjoy their centres once again.”
Cllr Jonathan Hawkins, Executive Member for Wellbeing, said: “This is fantastic news for the District. Fusion are working hard to enable our residents to get back to their activities as quickly and safely as possible. However, this is going to be a tough time for the leisure industry, they estimate that 48% of all public leisure facilities face closure, meaning as many as 1,300 could disappear by the end of the year, along with more than 58,000 jobs. Due to social distancing, taking part in your favourite leisure activity may look and feel very different, but let’s not be put off, let’s give our leisure centres our full support and get back to doing healthy activities when the centres open.”
South Hams and Fusion are supporting the #SaveLeisure campaign launched by Community Leisure UK urging the UK Government to commit circa £800m relief funding to enable the full reopening and recovery of the public leisure sector. Without this dedicated relief fund, a third of all public leisure facilities in the UK may not reopen and half will face permanent closure by the end of the year. To find out more about this campaign and ways you can support, go to: www.communityleisureuk.org
ENDS
Recent Comments