East Suffolk Council
Leisure centres gets ready to re-open
East Suffolk Council’s leisure centres are preparing to re-open next week following the Government’s announcement that nationwide restrictions are being lifted.
East Suffolk Council and Places Leisure are happy to announce the re-opening of Brackenbury Leisure Centre, Deben Leisure Centre, Felixstowe Leisure Centre, Leiston Leisure Centre and Waveney Valley Leisure Centre on Wednesday 2 December 2020.
The re-openings will include all areas of the facilities, including gym and studio classes and lane and session swimming, where applicable, and will be in line with each centre’s normal opening hours.
To ensure a safe re-opening for customers and staff alike, enhanced safety measures and cleaning regimes remain in place, as well as social distancing measures. This includes new hand sanitiser stations and cleaning stations to wipe down equipment before and after use, new floor and wall signage throughout and repositioned equipment to enable social distancing.
In a joint statement, Cllr Letitia Smith, cabinet member for Leisure and Cllr Stephen Burroughes, cabinet member for Operational Partnerships, said:
“We know that many people have been frustrated by the second closure of our leisure facilities and are keen to get back to their fitness regimes, which has never been more important for our mental and physical wellbeing, so we are really pleased to confirm the re-opening of our leisure centres.
“This of course includes the brand new Waveney Valley Leisure Centre, which had to close shortly after re-opening following a £3.4 million refurbishment so we are really pleased to be able to welcome back customers to enjoy the new state-of-the-art facilities in a safe environment.
“We want to reassure everyone that there are currently no further closure plans for leisure centres, as these are allowed to remain open under all levels of the Government’s tier system, so everyone can continue their fitness regimes throughout.
“The safety of our customers and staff remains a priority and every step has been taken to ensure we can re-open as safety as possible. We hope that customers will enjoy the leisure facilities but also act responsibility so that both customers and staff can have a safe and positive experience.”
Jeremy Boreham, Area Manager for Places for People Leisure, said:
“We’re excited to announce that we reopen our centres on 2nd December; Deben Leisure Centre, Felixstowe Leisure Centre, Brackenbury Sports Centre, Leiston Leisure Centre and Waveney Valley Leisure Centre.
“As we have been placed in Tier 2 we are able to open our Gyms, Swimming Pools and Workout Classes across all sites for customer FAQs please visit our website which also details the centre’s opening times, a list of activities that are available at each centre and details on how customers can book each activity. We cannot wait to welcome our colleagues and customers back.”
All activities will be operated in sessions which must be pre-booked via the Places Locker App or Places Leisure website. Gym sessions will last 60 minutes and swim sessions, where applicable, 45 minutes.
There will be a changeover period between all sessions to allow people to exit their session safety and for staff to clean the facilities before the next session.
All fitness classes will be running on a changed timetable with reduced class sizes to enable social distancing.
Meanwhile, as part of the Council’s ongoing improvement programme for its leisure centres, Waterlane Leisure Centre remains closed while essential specialised work is carried out, including replacing the equipment and flooring in the gym, upgrading the lighting and adding new flooring in the sports hall as well as repairing showers and decoration throughout. The pool area will also see improvements with plans to empty the pool to repair the teaching pool moveable floor and the pool tiles.
Work at Waterlane is expected to be completed by February 2021 and will bring the centre into the East Suffolk family with a strong and vibrant brand, offering some of the best leisure facilities to our communities. Customers are encouraged to use other facilities such as the new Waveney Valley Leisure Centre in the meantime.
For more information about the centres, including opening hours and facilities available, please go to Places Leisure’s website.