Ponds Forge and all other Sheffield City Trust leisure facilities to reopen in April

On April 12, the government is set to lift Covid-19 restrictions further and allow people to return to gyms and other leisure facilities but only for individual use or exercising with members of your own household.

The Trust, that runs Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Hillsborough Leisure Centre, the English Institute of Sport and several other major venues, said it was delighted for the change.

Andrew Snelling, chief executive of Sheffield City Trust, said: “We’re looking forward to opening the doors to all our venues on April 12 and welcoming back customers from across the city.

“From April 12 our venues will be open for swimming and fitness activities in our gyms. Coached programmes will gradually be phased back in and group classes will resume later in the government’s roadmap.

“We know how important staying healthy and active is so we’re delighted that we’ll soon be able to see people returning to our venues.”

He said their golf courses had been exceptionally busy with nearly 7,200 bookings being taken since they reopened on March 29.

Sheffield Council which is Sheffield City Trust’s main funder, set aside an additional £12 million in its budget this year to support the Trust and Places for People with reopening its venues.

It follows an overspend last year of up to £12.8 million on leisure due to the impact of Covid-19.