Better Leisure, the charitable social enterprise that operates leisure facilities across Carlisle on behalf of Carlisle City Council, has announced its plans for a phased re-opening of its leisure centres from this Saturday (25 July 2020).
In the initial reopening phase, the gym previously within The Sands Centre, will reopen at the old Newman School site at Lismore Place. This is the culmination of the pre-enabling works to ensure leisure facilities continue in the city during the redevelopment of The Sands Centre.
Carlisle Pools will reopen their main pool on Monday 3 August with the other pools opening shortly after.
The Sheepmount will open for athletic club sessions only from Saturday 25 July before welcoming football back in late August.
Anyone wishing to use any of these facilities will need to pre-book a time slot via the Better app or website. Equipment within gym areas will be more widely spaced to ensure that two metres social distancing between users is maintained, while some fitness classes will be relocated to sports halls or even, weather permitting, the open air. Staff will be adopting a new, enhanced cleaning regime, while customers will be asked to wipe down the equipment that they have used. Hand sanitiser will be available throughout leisure centre buildings.
All Better members will be given county wide access to all Better-operated facilities within Cumbria for the foreseeable future. This means that members of centres that aren’t re-opening in the initial phase, such as Morton Leisure Centre, Trinity Leisure Centre and Harraby Sports campus, will be able to use alternative facilities.
They will also be given the option to continue to freeze their memberships as will any members who don’t feel confident returning to the centres initially or who might have health conditions that put them at higher risk of infection from Covid-19.
Mark Sesnan, Regional Director for Better Leisure Centres said: “After nearly four months of lockdown, we’re delighted finally to be able to re-open our leisure centres, albeit at reduced capacity initially. Our key priorities are to ensure customer and staff safety and build customer confidence. That’s why we’re phasing in our re-opening – to ensure that the systems we have put in place to be Covid-Secure are working at an optimum level, before we roll out further. We recognise that some people may be worried about returning to their local leisure facilities, so we will continue to offer free access to online fitness and exercises classes via our Better app.”
Leader of Carlisle City Council, Cllr John Mallinson, added: “The Sands Centre redevelopment is a major project that will provide significant benefits. It represents a cornerstone in our plans to support our communities to continue to improve their health and wellbeing.
“The former Newman School at Lismore Place will provide temporary facilities during the construction works. It’s great to hear that they’ll soon be up and running. Well done to all teams involved in putting this provision in place.”
Carlisle City Council is investing over £25 million to make big improvements to The Sands Centre, Carlisle.
The investment will see the refurbishment of the existing events facilities and the provision of brand-new state of the art sports and leisure facilities including:
- A 25 metre, 8 lane swimming pool
- A 20 metre by 8 metre learner pool, with moveable floor
- A 120-station gym
- New four court sports hall and gallery
- Dance and fitness class studios
- NHS physiotherapy suite
- Existing sports hall transformed into a dedicated auditorium
- New bar and café facilities
Due to the scale of the refurbishment works taking place the leisure centre programme will transfer to new customised facilities at the former Newman School, Lismore Place, Carlisle, CA1 1LZ until the completion of the project.
This means that Better Leisure can continue to offer their members full gym provision, an extensive fitness class programme, a wide range of sports hall activities and lessons and courses. Changing rooms, showers and parking will also be available.
