Everyone Active all set to re-open leisure facilities in Scarborough and Whitby after agreement with Council

On Monday, Scarborough Borough Council agreed support measures to enable the leisure centres, which are managed by sports and leisure operator Everyone Active in partnership with the council, to reopen.

Scarborough Sports Village and Whitby Leisure Centre will reopen their gyms and begin their group exercise programme on Saturday August 1.

The news comes after the facilities were forced to close for almost four months due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The swimming pool facilities at the centres will be opening shortly after and all customers will be notified directly about the details of reopening.

Pindar Leisure Centre will open on October 1. This is part of a phased approach to re-opening the leisure facilities in order to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all customers returning under the new social distancing guidance.

The government update on July 9 confirmed leisure centres are now safe to reopen their facilities, with strict operational measures in place. Everyone Active procedures will ensure social distancing is managed throughout the centres and regular cleaning is maintained. Full detail of the operator’s measures can be found here.

While 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 £400k for those most in need during the pandemic.

Martin Miles, Everyone Active’s area 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.”

Cllr Phil Kershaw, Scarborough Borough Council Cabinet Member for Quality of Life, said: “Our leisure centres play an important role in keeping people active and in promoting good mental and physical health.

"We have worked hard with Everyone Active to make sure the centres are safe and welcoming and we are extremely pleased that they will finally be reopening this weekend."

For further information on Everyone Active and its leisure centres, visit http://www.everyoneactive.com.