Please note the following Press Release from East Suffolk Council:
Having spent over £10 million on the redevelopment and refurbishment of its leisure centres, East Suffolk Council is delighted that they will be re-opening next week as part of the further easing of national restrictions.
The Council’s leisure centres, which are run by Everyone Active and Places for People Leisure, have introduced a number of enhanced safety measures and additional cleaning regimes to ensure a safe re-opening for customers and staff alike. This includes hand sanitiser stations, which all customers are asked to use, and cleaning stations to clean equipment before and after use, as well as marked one-way systems. Social distancing measures will also be in place.
Tim Snook, Leisure Development Partnership Manager at East Suffolk Council, said: “East Suffolk Council is really pleased to be able to welcome customers back next week, as we know many are keen to get back to their fitness regimes. “We have invested significantly in our leisure centres over the past five years, bringing refreshed state-of-the-art facilities to our local communities. This means that people can now enjoy local facilities that are beyond excellent and offers an enhance experience to meet all their fitness needs in a safe environment. “We want to reassure everyone that the safety of our customers and staff remain a priority and every step has been taken to ensure we can re-open as safely 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.”
In the north, East Suffolk Council’s newly appointed leisure operators, Everyone Active, are getting ready to re-open Waveney Valley Leisure Centre, which completed a £3.4 million redevelopment in October 2020, and Waterlane Leisure Centre, which completed a £1 million refurbishment last month, in line with the centres normal opening hours. All activities will be operated in sessions with a limited number of people allowed and must be booked via the Everyone Active app or Everyone Active website. Gym sessions will last 50 minutes and swim sessions 50 minutes.
Everyone is asked to arrive no earlier than 5 minutes before the start time of your session to avoid congregation in the reception and communal areas. Changing facilities will not be available, so please arrive ready to take part in your activity and shower at home afterwards. Customers are also encouraged to wear face coverings when not taking part in an activity. 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. With all fitness classes hopefully returning from 17 May they will be running on a changed timetable with reduced class sizes to enable social distancing.
For more information about the centres, including opening hours and facilities available, please go to www.everyoneactive.com/centre/
Stuart Jardine, Everyone Active’s contract manager, said: “We’re very much looking forward to opening our centres in East Suffolk and welcoming the local community. “The latest step in the Government’s roadmap is a positive move forward for the leisure industry and gives people of all ages the opportunity to resume activity and exercise in their leisure centre. “Ensuring our colleagues and customers remain safe continues to be 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 opening of centres. We look forward to welcoming everyone and thank them for their patience.”
In the south, Places Leisure are preparing to re-open Brackenbury Sports Centre, Deben Leisure, which underwent a £3.5 million redevelopment in 2018, Leiston Leisure Centre, which underwent a £4 million redevelopment in 2019, and Felixstowe Leisure Centre in line with the centres normal opening hours.
Pools and gyms will re-open in line with the Government’s road map on 12 April and the return of group exercise programme will return on 17 May at the earliest. All activities will be operated in sessions which must be pre-booked via the Places Locker App or Places Leisure’s website. Gym sessions will last 55 minutes and swim sessions, where applicable, 45 minutes. Sessions are now live and available to book. 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. With all fitness classes hopefully returning from 17 May they will be running on a changed timetable with reduced class sizes to enable social distancing.
For more information about the centres, including opening hours and facilities available, please go to www.placesleisure.org
Jeremy Boreham, Area Manager for Places for People Leisure, said: “After what’s seemed an incredibly long third lockdown, we are very excited to announce in line with the governments roadmap we are reopening our centres on 12th April Deben Leisure Centre, Felixstowe Leisure Centre, Brackenbury Sports Centre, and Leiston Leisure Centre. “We are able to open our Gyms, Swimming Pools 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.”