Phased leisure centres re-opening announced by Calderdale Council

In March 2020, the Council closed all of its leisure facilities and libraries in line with Government guidance, to reduce the spread of the virus.

Since then, staff have been working hard to reopen facilities as soon as possible, prioritising safety at all times and following national guidance.

To ensure the safest possible operation of sports and fitness centres, the reopenings (including tennis courts) are due to be phased as follows:

Brighouse Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre and Todmorden Sports Centre – from Wednesday September 9

Sowerby Bridge Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre – from Wednesday September 16

Councillor Susan Press, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, said: “We’re really pleased to be able to start welcoming people back to our leisure centres and more of our libraries soon. We know that many people have missed using these services, and we thank them for being patient, staying active in a variety of other ways and using our digital library facilities and Home Library Service.

“Keeping everyone well is always our priority, and we had to be confident that we could reopen our facilities safely. As Calderdale’s COVID-19 rates have been amongst the highest in the country in recent weeks, it has been vital to take a cautious and phased approach to reopening services, to help us manage the risk effectively.

“People returning to our sports centres and libraries will notice some changes and extra safety measures. We urge everyone to respect these and remain vigilant whilst enjoying the facilities. We all need to keep doing our bit to protect each other.”

These are the extra safety measures being put into place at leisure centres:

Opening hours will be reduced and will be available at www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/sports-and-fitness

The number of customers allowed in the buildings at any one time will be significantly reduced to enable social distancing.

To manage customer numbers and help with COVID-19 contact tracing, people must pre-book to use the facilities. Bookings can be made online or through reception, and customer data will be stored securely as part of the Test and Trace service. Please do not visit the sites to make any bookings, this can only be done online or over the phone.

There will be fewer classes to enable social distancing and ensure the safety of staff and customers.

Additional cleaning will take place to ensure the buildings and equipment are regularly sanitised and available for use.

There will be signs and floor markings throughout each centre to help with social distancing, as well as hand sanitisation units around the buildings and protective screens in reception areas.

Sauna, spas and steam rooms will remain closed until further notice for safety reasons.

School swimming lessons will not start until after the October half term, due to transport restrictions for social distancing reasons. Out-of-school lessons will also restart after October half term.

The teaching pool at Brighouse Swimming Pool and Fitness Centre will initially remain closed to allow repairs to be undertaken.

All measures will be kept under regular review and people will be notified of any changes. Services and activity programmes will develop in line with Government requirements and public health advice.