Burnley Leisure announces the safe reopening of flagship centre

Burnley Leisure has announced when the safe reopening of its flagship gym, swim and multi-sports facility will be.
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St Peter’s Leisure Centre, in the heart of Burnley, is preparing to reopen its doors on Saturday, July 25th, in line with government Covid-19 safety guidelines.

The centre was forced to close due to lockdown on March 20th.

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News of this boost to the community's ongoing emergence from lockdown follows the reopening of the leisure trust's Prairie Sports Village and Towneley Golf Club in May.

St Peter's Centre, BurnleySt Peter's Centre, Burnley
St Peter's Centre, Burnley

The gym is being reconfigured so users can safely return to the equipment while observing social distancing and a ‘do your bit, clean your kit’ policy will be in place to keep equipment sanitised.

The pool is set to reopen for lane swimming with fast, medium and slow lanes available and customers are being advised to arrive ‘beach ready’ and shower / change at home.

Group exercise classes are set to resume and although they will have reduced capacity, the Burnley Leisure team has devised creative ways to ensure the energy is maintained while adhering to safety measures.

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Racket sports will also be centre court with badminton, family group-only basketball, pickleball, short tennis and table tennis sessions available.

All resumed activities must be pre-booked ahead of arrival and can be done so either online at www.burnleyleisure.co.uk or by calling 01282 664444.

The first seven days of opening will be restricted to members only to give priority to those who have continued to support Burnley Leisure throughout recent months. The Trust is currently contacting and updating those with memberships.

Gym changing rooms remain closed at this time with social distancing measures in place in other changing facilities, toilets and showers.

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More information about the new safety measures, restrictions and new policies are available in the St Peter’s Leisure Centre Customer Guide https://burnleyleisure.co.uk/reopening/Padiham Leisure Centre will stay closed until the Trust is allowed to safely reopen the site to comply to the current guidance on social distancing.

Anthony Preston, chair of Trustee’s at Burnley Leisure, said: “The reopening of St Peter’s Leisure Centre is fantastic news for all our customers, staff and the community we support.

“We’re delighted to be able to continue a phased reopening of our facilities which have been much missed by so many and we can’t wait to welcome home our members and users once again.

“While the centre will look a little different in these ‘new normal’ times, the one thing that definitely hasn’t changed is the warm welcome and personal touch our Burnley Leisure staff are renowned for.

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“We strive to install reassurance and confidence in all of our operations and to give our customers the peace of mind that our activities will be operated in a safe and trusted environment.

“Physical activity has a proven link to good health and wellbeing and it’s more important than ever that we continue to provide the facilities to help people to be more active now and, in the future, following this pandemic.

“We will be reopening Padiham Leisure Centre very soon.

“We’d like to reassure all our loyal customers we’re currently working hard to prepare the site and although we share their disappointment at this time we hope to bring them good news in the coming weeks.

“The safety of our staff and customers is our first priority and we’d like to thank everyone for their amazing support during these difficult circumstances.”

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While Burnley Leisure’s community sports centres and cultural venues have remained closed, staff have been working hard behind the scenes to continue to support the Burnley community in a whole host of ways.

Staff volunteered from all sectors including leisure centres, the Mechanics theatre and the Active Streets service – a project funded by the BIG Lottery Reaching Communities Fund to tackle anti-social behaviour in hard to reach communities – to help the most vulnerable deal with the impact of the lockdown.

As a founding partner of Burnley Together, they worked with Burnley Council, Calico Homes, Lancashire County Council, Burnley FC in the Community and the Council for Voluntary Service to provide vital services and supplies.

This included collecting and distributing 4,000 Easter eggs to key worker children in schools and to key workers in GP surgeries and local care homes.

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Burnley Leisure vans were used to deliver food parcels supported by 15 volunteers who worked five days a week to distribute them.

They worked with Ghosia Foodbank, CVS Foodbank, Gannow Community Centre Foodbank and Community Kitchen Foodbank to deliver and collect supplies, travelling a total distance of around 2,500 miles.

And they helped pack more than 3,000 food parcels and hampers for local authorities and care sector and key workers during the pandemic.

Fitness staff have held over 60 live fitness classes via social media and created 250 workout videos to keep followers fit and motivated throughout lockdown via Burnley Leisure’s Facebook page.

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There’s also been hours of quizzes and puzzles to keep people entertained and the website has been updated weekly with recipes, motivational mental health and fitness advice and blogs.

Staff channelled their VE Day centenary spirit by creating a special tribute video which reached 13,500 people and two special war time workouts broadcast that day went down a storm with viewers.

They’ve also loaned more than 50 barbell sets and distributed more than 300 skipping ropes free to enable members to be able to workout at home.

Anthony added: “Burnley Leisure staff have made an outstanding contribution to the community during this difficult time and I want to say a massive thank you to them, our partners and the organisations we’ve worked alongside for their tremendous efforts.

“It just goes to show what can be achieved at times of adversity and the vital role we all play in serving our communities for the greater good.”

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