Lace up your trainers and get your swim wear ready - South Ribble leisure centres will reopen on 12 April!

Under the management of South Ribble Borough Council leisure centres will re-open on 12 April.

The Council has made the decision to take over management of the centres to ensure they are able to continue operating as we come out of the pandemic and to give us more local control so we can improve the offer and encourage more people to lead an active lifestyle.

On 12 April the following centres will re-open in accordance with covid-19 guidance with limited capacity and reduced hours:

• Bamber bridge Leisure Centre
• Penwortham Leisure Centre
• Leyland Leisure Centre
• South Ribble Tennis Centre

Information about the re-opening of the centres, opening hours, covid safety and how to book sessions can be found at our leisure centre page.

As a welcome back gesture and because the council wants people's journey back to leisure centres to be as easy as possible, if a member pays by Direct Debit, April has been made free of charge, so no payment will be taken until May.

Councillor Mick Titherington, Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Leisure said, "I'm thrilled we are able to open the leisure centres on 12 April.

"Covid-19 has meant that many people have lost their fitness routines and staying indoors more often than usual has had a real effect on people's mental health and wellbeing - so it's great that centres can now re-open safely.

"As per the covid-19 guidance, we will be limiting capacity and opening hours and we would recommend that sessions are booked in advance. This is so we can make sure all the centres can remain covid safe.

"As expected, some activities such as fitness classes, will be unable to start up right away, but there will still be plenty to do!"

South Ribble Borough Council officially took back management of the centres on 1 April with all leisure centre staff transferring to authority.

Councillor Titherington continued, "While we officially took over management of the centres today (1 April), behind the scenes we have been working incredibly hard over the past couple of months to make sure we can ensure a smooth hand over and to make the customer experience as seamless as possible.

"We've also been hard at work getting the centres ready for members when they arrive back. We've made some initial changes, but all this is phase one of a wider refurbishment plan for the centres over the next 12-18 months.

"Bringing the centres back in house is all part of our strategy to widen opportunities for people to get more active. It's an exciting time and we look forward to seeing everyone return!"
As per of the preparation for re-opening, the council has:

• Given each facility a thorough deep clean
• Fitted each centre with new signage
• Redecorated inside the centres
• Undertaken essential maintenance work
• Give the outside of the facilities - the landscaping and car parks - a good tidy up

More information, contact details and an extensive list of FAQs can be found on our leisure centre page.