Loughborough Leisure Centre set to re-open next month

Charnwood Borough Council and its leisure partner Fusion have confirmed details for the reopening of Loughborough Leisure Centre and the swimming pools at all three sites.

The health and fitness facilities and swimming pool at Loughborough Leisure Centre will reopen on Monday 14th September.

The swimming pools at South Charnwood and Soar Valley will reopen on Tuesday 1st September.

There will be a phased return for lane, family and club swimming at all three leisure centres.

It comes after the Council’s Cabinet approved a recommendation that the Council pays a subsidy of £367,000 to keep the pools and gyms at all three centres open until April 2021. They say the situation will have to be reviewed again before then.

Other options, included not reopening the pools or not reopening all the leisure centres, have also been considered.

Councillor Leigh Harper-Davies, lead member for communities said: “I’m pleased we’ve now been able to set a date to reopen Loughborough Leisure Centre along with the swimming pools at all three sites.

“As we’ve mentioned before, we have continued to work closely with our partners Fusion however due to the financial implications, a decision by cabinet was required which is why it has taken a little longer to reopen Loughborough and the pool facilities.

“We know how important the leisure centres are for the health and wellbeing for our residents and I would like to thank them for their patience.

“There has been a positive response as residents returned to South Charnwood and Soar Valley leisure centres and we now look forward to welcoming more people back to the leisure centre in Loughborough and to our swimming pools.”

Customers of all three leisure centres will be contacted directly by Fusion about the steps being taken to ensure people’s safety as more facilities reopen.

Safety measures include managing capacity by asking customers to pre-book classes and gym sessions, spacing equipment at least two metres apart with social distancing markers and increasing the amount of cleaning.

Anthony Cawley, director of operations at Fusion said: “We know our leisure facilities are really important for the health and wellbeing of the local community and we are really pleased that we are able to announce the opening of more of our facilities, including bringing swimming back to Soar Valley and South Charnwood Leisure Centres and the reopening of Loughborough Leisure Centre in a safe and viable way.

“We would like to thank Charnwood Borough Council for their ongoing support during this time.”