WEST Devon Borough Council has stepped in to secure leisure facilities in the borough by providing £97,000, a lifeline of financial support.

The interim financial support package from the council is crucial to safeguard the future leisure provision in the borough and to reopen Parklands, Okehampton’s leisure centre on August 17.

The support package, funded until September 2020, will provide Fusion, the council’s leisure provider, with the funding needed to fully open Okehampton’s centre to ensure health and well-being needs are being met within the borough.

Meadowlands in Tavistock, also run by Fusion on behalf of the borough council, will remain closed until at least September.

Fusion has said it will extend renewal dates of memberships by the number of months Meadowlands has been closed after concerns were raised by customers over their ongoing membership fees through coronavirus.

The decision to open Parklands, and not Meadowlands was agreed after discussions centred on the availability of other local leisure provision and the size of each centre to accommodate social distancing restrictions.

Okehampton has the larger of the two facilities so it could implement social distancing measures and still be viable, said the council.

Extra facilities around Tavistock included Kelly College swimming pool and gyms in Plymouth, it said.

By stepping in to help, the borough council has agreed to cover the costs of Parkland’s lack of use during July, while also agreeing to cover the mothballing costs for Meadowlands for three months, with further discussions about the reopening of the centre being revisited in September.

This is in addition to the funding already provided by the council to cover the mothballing costs during the lockdown period when both centres stood empty.

The borough council and Fusion are supporting the #SaveLeisure campaign launched by Community Leisure UK urging the UK Government to commit circa £800-million relief funding to enable the full reopening and recovery of the public leisure sector. Without this dedicated relief fund, a third of all public leisure facilities in the UK may not reopen and half will face permanent closure by the end of the year.

With limitations on visitors, financial forecasts suggest that takings would reduce by around 60%, meaning financial support is needed to make facilities available.

By supporting the reopening of Parklands, the council will provide opportunities for furloughed staff to return to work and will also support the local economy.

Cllr Tony Leech, lead member for well-being, for West Devon Borough Council, said: ‘We are in a long contract with Fusion so it is important that we respond to these huge challenges when they need our greatest support.

‘Health and well-being has never been more important for our residents than now and we’re doing everything in our power to ensure there are leisure facilities available within the borough and I’m delighted to announce the reopening of Parklands Leisure Centre.

‘Of course we would ideally like to keep both centres open but we have to be realistic about what we can financially provide as part of this interim support package.

‘The council will be reviewing support for Fusion and as part of that, will be discussing which of the leisure centres should be open in September.’

In September, the council has said it will take a review of its financial position and the impact of the Covid-19 crisis, and will reconsider the health and well-being options available.

Anthony Cawley, director of operations at Fusion Lifestyle, said: ‘We know our leisure facilities are really important for the health and well-being of the local community and we want them open again as soon as they are safe and viable. Therefore, we are so pleased our doors are beginning to open again and together with West Devon Borough Council, we hope our customers will bear with us whilst we implement our reopening plans and they can soon enjoy their centres once again.’