Serco Leisure has re-opened its AquaSplash facility on the Channel Island of Jersey, the first of its indoor sites to re-open following the closure of all leisure facilities in the UK back in March.
The decision to re-open the swimming centre was taken following the Jersey Government’s announcement that the island had moved to Level Two of coronavirus lockdown, which allows for certain businesses to re-open as long as they are able to safely maintain social distancing rules.
The AquaSplash is operating with new social distancing measures in place, which include the splitting of the pool into three wider lanes to allow for more distance between swimmers, changing rooms, showers and lockers not being in use and the sauna and steam rooms staying closed.
Simon Bailey, Managing Director of Serco Leisure said: “A lot of work has gone into the re-opening plans for the AquaSplash. We’ve ensured we’re able to offer a safe place to visit for customers and a safe place to work for our colleagues on the island.
“We recently successfully re-opened our golf centres in Basingstoke and at Beacon Park in West Lancashire, but an indoor facility brings its own challenges. However, since we welcomed back our first customers back this week, it’s clear that they and our colleagues are adapting well to this new way of operating.”
Faye Camp, Contract Manager at the centre said: “People were desperate for us to re-open and I can honestly say, it’s great to be back. We’ve had a good number of swimmers each day in the pool, about average for the time of year actually. And we’re even making new membership sales, which shows that customers are confident they our health and safety processes are robust during this challenging period.”
Serco Leisure operates the facility on behalf of the Jersey Government. The AquaSplash is Jersey’s premier aquatics venue, attracting around 200,000 visits a year.
