Leisure centres owned by South Somerset announce reopening date

From 8am on Saturday, LED Community Leisure gym and centres will greet users for the first time since the were shut by the coronavirus pandemic.

Facilities reopening include Goldenstones and Westlands in Yeovil, as well as Wincanton Sports Centre. However, the pools at Goldenstones and Wincanton will remain closed for the time being.

An SSDC spokesman said: "As a district council, we are slowly but surely reopening our services that had to close due to Covid-19.

"Government timelines have dictated some of the reopenings, but facilities that have recently reopened to the public include the use of our play areas, recreational facilities such as pitch & putt at Yeovil Recreation Centre plus our café facility at Yeovil Country Park.

"Whilst many facilities have reopened and leisure centres are reopening from Saturday, the swimming pools at Goldenstones in Yeovil, and Wincanton Sports Centre are set to remain closed until at least September, subject to review.

"We fully understand that many residents will be keen to get their feet wet again, but most operators will be taking a similar measured approach to reopening leisure facilities."

For gym members, you are encouraged to download the ‘LED Leisure’ app and refer to recent emails from LED for guidelines.

The spokesman added: "In order to comply with Government guidance, swimming provision will look very different in many leisure centres when they reopen including restricted access to changing rooms and being required to book ahead and arrive ‘swim ready’.

"As with the re-opening of high streets, we fully expect some people to be cautious about returning to the pool initially and this will have a big impact on income.

"Initially our pools will only be able to accommodate half as many swimmers as normal due to social distancing and our operator will require significant financial support from the Council to support them to reopen safely."

Pools are expected to reopen in September.

"We want to be fully confident that all the risks from reopening can be managed safely and we are able to apply the learning acquired from the earlier reopening of the dry side facilities," SSDC's spokesman said.

"Our operator will be making sure that staff will be correctly trained who are poolside, including the lifeguards.

"On top of that, this is a perfect opportunity for the Council to undertake an assessment of the building and if any immediate works need to be undertaken, we can do that safely whilst there are no customers in the pool and reduce the chances of the centre being closed later in the year for work."

Councillor Mike Best is the portfolio holder for health and wellbeing at South Somerset District Council.

He said: “Everybody has felt the effect that Covid-19 has had and the services that we the District Council operate have sadly been affected over the last few months.

"We understand that a lot of people just want some normality back in their lives, especially with school Summer Holidays now upon us, but we cannot take the risk of opening the swimming pool when we are not yet ready to do so.

"We need to ensure we have every measure possible in place to ensure we comply with all Covid regulations. We hope to be able to keep the doors of the centres open constantly once it does reopen.”

For more information, visit www.ledleisure.co.uk.