Coronavirus West Berkshire: Council swimming pools unlikely to reopen this month

'I feel people’s frustrations, but unfortunately that’s the situation we are finding ourselves living in'

COUNCIL-run swimming pools are unlikely to reopen until September.

Indoor pools and leisure centres have been allowed to reopen since July 24 and six of the seven council-owned leisure centres in West Berkshire have reopened.

The Downland Sport Centre remains closed at this time.

More than 750 people have visited council leisure centres since they opened last weekend. At this stage only fitness gym and selected classes are available so that centres can get used to the new arrangements and make any adjustments required to ensure safety.

However, council leader Lynne Doherty (Con, Speen) said: “We will not be able to open pools until September, that’s very much standard across the country.”

Guidance to swimmers and pool operators says that people should arrive at a pool ready to swim, to reduce time spent in a changing room.

Showering should be done at home, before and after swimming, three sq m of space should be allowed for each swimmer in the pool, the supply of outside air to pools should be increased and one-way entry and exit systems should implemented.

Mrs Doherty said: “The guidance is quite complex and difficult for some of our older centres, which can’t do two-metre distancing in changing rooms.

“I can understand residents’ frustrations with that, but it’s never quite as straightforward when you look at the guidance.”

She said there was a combination of factors such as staff being furloughed and the additional costs of implementing guidance, and having to cover those costs with a reduced number of customers.

Other issues include water quality and the impact of coronavirus on suppliers, meaning that timescales would “shoot up and it’s weeks before we can get a contractor in”.

Mrs Doherty said: “I feel people’s frustrations, but unfortunately that’s the situation we are finding ourselves living in because of Covid.”

The council announced earlier this month that the Northcroft Lido would not be reopening until 2021, owing to delays to repairs.

Outdoor pools were allowed to reopen on July 11, but the council said specialist contractors would not be available to carry out the work until August because of Covid-19.

And as the work would take two to three weeks to complete, then require 10 days to fill the pool, and that under the current contract the Lido is only allowed to remain open until the first weekend in September, the opportunity to open in 2020 was limited.

All leisure centre activities must currently be pre-booked at www.leisurecentre.com or via the app. Limited numbers are allowed into the centre, and also in individual sessions, and customers should come ready dressed for their activity as changing rooms are closed. No cash transactions can be taken this time.

The council's executive member for public health & community wellbeing, leisure and culture said, Howard Woollaston (Con, Lambourn) said: “We’re delighted that the centres have been reopened.

"There are new measures in place to keep people safe but the disruption is minimal and we know that two-thirds of visitors have been happy to come back for a second visit.

"Although we’d have liked to have opened the swimming pools we are not alone in facing challenges and we’ve heard anecdotally that only around 20 per cent of pools nationally have reopened. Staff are working hard behind the scenes to open the pools as soon as it is safe to do so.”