The Activity Zone in Malmesbury will reopen next month following a four month closure due to Covid-19.

Wiltshire Council has confirmed that it intends to begin a phased reopening of its leisure services from August 3, following recent confirmation from the Government that leisure centres can reopen with social distancing measures in place.

On August 10, a number of the sites managed on behalf of the council by Places Leisure will reopen, including The Activity Zone.

To manage the number of people at the centre at any given time, customers must book in advance, and follow social distancing and increased hygiene measures.

Due to the restrictions on group swimming, Wiltshire Council say it is not possible to continue with under 16s free swimming at present.

Cllr Ian Blair-Pilling, Wiltshire Council cabinet member for Leisure, said: “Our teams have worked hard to put the arrangements in place to be able to provide leisure services again during the pandemic.

"This is a new way of providing services, and we ask people to bear with us while we reopen in a careful and phased way.

“We have closely followed government advice to ensure that when each centre opens it’s as safe as possible for our staff and customers. Our friendly and attentive staff are eager to welcome people back and as time goes on we hope we can introduce more services for all to enjoy.

“For those that have to wait a little longer for us to reopen, we appreciate your patience and hope you understand that this approach takes into account our current resources and financial pressures.

"Our focus is on ensuring the safety of every individual at our centres and reopening in this phased way is the right way to do it.”

The decision to reopen, including the phased approach agreed, is subject to a five-day call-in period for councillors, and leisure members will be contacted next week with final confirmation of reopening dates.

The Activity Zone will initially reopen with revised opening hours.

To find out more, go to www.wiltshire.gov.uk/leisure-covid19