Leisure centres in Westminster to open from Saturday
By Owen Sheppard, Local Democracy Reporter
Every leisure centre in the Westminster, from Victoria to Little Venice, will reopen on Saturday.
It comes a week after the government allowed gyms and swimming pools to reopen across England.
A number of safety measures will be put in place at Westminster council’s leisure centres in a bid to prevent the potential spread of coronavirus.
According to Everyone Active, which runs the centres on the council’s behalf, the measures include:
- Hand sanitiser and cleaning materials will be located at various points around each centre
- “Sneeze screens” will be installed
- All activities will have a maximum number of guests who can take part
- Guests will be asked to book activities via the company’s app
- One-way systems will be put in place to ensure social distancing while guests and staff move around the centres
- Increased cleaning of the centres will take place, especially of shared surfaces
Swimming pools at most centres will also reopen from Saturday.
However, the Queen Mother Sports Centre’s main diving pool will remain closed until late August. This is because a new outlet system has been installed and pipework has been remodelled.
Refurbishment works are continuing at the main pool at the Porchester Centre.
The full list of Westminster’s leisure centres that are reopening on August 1 is:
- Little Venice Sports Centre
- Marshall Street Leisure Centre
- Moberly Sports Centre
- Paddington Recreation Ground
- Porchester Centre
- Porchester Spa
- Queen Mother Sports Centre
- Seymour Leisure Centre
- St Augustine’s Sports Centre
The borough’s outdoor gyms and climbing frames, including Paddington Rec, reopened on July 4.
The council’s cabinet member for community services, Councillor Paul Swaddle, said: “We have been working with Everyone Active, our leisure centre partner, to finalise operational details and staff training to ensure facilities have appropriate social distancing and other safety and hygiene measures in place.
“We are confident that we now have everything ready to ensure our residents and customers can get and stay active safely.
“People may have to book ahead, however we hope that everyone can now get back into their active routine, whether that is swimming, group exercise classes, using the gym or any other of the many activities we offer.”
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