Council chiefs have confirmed that the reopening of Friary Grange Leisure Centre will only feature the swimming pool initially – and that the facility will shut again for repairs at the end of next month.
The city facility has been pencilled in to welcome back users on 24th October having been closed since the start of the coronavirus crisis.
It has now been confirmed that the dance studio and gym facilities will not reopen until 2nd November due to half-term work taking place in an area of the facility currently shared with The Friary School.
But users will face further downtime when work on the ceiling over the pool will see it shut again from 29th November until 4th January.
Cllr Richard Cox, cabinet member responsible for leisure at Lichfield District Council, said:
“The re-opening of the pool and other facilities at Friary Grange Leisure Centre is good news, even if we do have to operate at limited capacity and alongside the essential repairs programme.
“We are glad to be finally starting on the refurbishments which were promised in 2019 but have delayed due to COVID-19.
“While closing the pool will cause some disruption, December is by some way the quietest month for leisure centres, and is the best time to complete the work.
“We will be working with Freedom Leisure to communicate with Friary Grange members and regular pool users, to make sure alternative arrangements are in place for them to use the facilities at Burntwood Leisure Centre until Friary Grange re-opens in January.”
Cllr Richard Cox, Lichfield District Council
The comments come after a meeting of Lichfield District Council last week where Cllr Cox had said that “all services will be going ahead” when the site reopens.
But Cllr Alan White warned that the rising coronavirus infection rate across Lichfield and Burntwood could curtail the plans in future.
