Leisure centres in Ashfield are set to reopen from coronavirus closure after discussions between Ashfield District Council and leisure operator Everyone Active.

Lammas Leisure Centre, Sutton; Festival Hall Leisure Centre, Kirkby; and Hucknall Leisure Centre will reopen their gyms and group exercise studios on Saturday, 1st August.

All other facilities, including swimming pools, will reopen in future weeks.

Full details of Everyone Active’s new safety measures can be found here.

Whilst its 200 leisure centres across the country have been closed, Everyone Active launched a comprehensive package of online workouts for people to do whilst on lockdown, along with streaming live classes across its social media pages. It also pledged to donate half the cost of a membership to charity – The National Emergencies Trust – if customers continued to pay. Consequently, the operator raised over £400,000 for those most in need during the pandemic.

Coun Kier Barsby, portfolio holder for health and leisure, said: “We know how many people value sports and fitness as an important part of their lifestyle. We are really excited to see our excellent centres open their doors in a safe way for local residents from 1st August.

“This is a day that so many people across Ashfield have been waiting for. Many thousands of us have missed being able to visit our leisure centres and are keen to get back to enjoying the fitness centres and swimming pools.

“However, we understand that Covid-19 has not disappeared and we must therefore be vigilant and follow the rules in place.

“We have been working closely with our leisure contractors Everyone Active to get the centres ready to reopen. Strict measures have been put in place to ensure the cleanliness and safety, including measures for social distancing, new booking systems, hygiene and sanitation, risk assessments, fogging and so on.

“We will continue to work with Everyone Active to ensure customers feel safe when visiting our sites in Kirkby, Sutton and Hucknall.”

Simon Fearn, Everyone Active’s regional contract manager, said: “We’re very much looking forward to reopening the centres and welcoming back the local community. After being closed for nearly four months, this latest announcement from Government is the news the leisure industry has been eagerly awaiting. Giving people the opportunity to resume activity and exercise in their leisure centre will go a long way to maintaining the good health of local communities.

“We’ve been overwhelmed with the support we have received from customers during these unprecedented times, and we’re so grateful. Like many other industries, leisure has been greatly affected by the lockdown.

“Ensuring our colleagues and customers remain safe is our number one priority and we have carefully considered the strict measurements to ensure we adhere to the guidance. We will be contacting all customers directly over the coming days regarding the centres reopening. We look forward to welcoming everyone back and thanking them for their patience.”