IT HAS finally been confirmed that fitness fans will be able to use leisure facilities in the town from Saturday July 25.

South Downs Leisure, a registered charity which operates Worthing Leisure Centre, Splashpoint, Field Place Manor House and Barns and Davison Leisure Centre, has introduced a range of measures to ensure their facilities will be safe and welcoming once Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

This will ensure all four centres will reopen in some form in the coming weeks, offering gym space, exercise classes, as well as squash, badminton and tennis, to thousands of members and visitors.

However, due to the high operational costs and difficulty to maintain social distancing, the swimming pools at Splashpoint will temporarily remain closed.

This will be reviewed once the charity are happy that their other centres are working well with all safety restrictions in place.

Worthing Borough Council, which has handed responsibility for the running of its leisure facilities to South Downs Leisure, supported the move.

Councillor Edward Crouch, the council’s member for digital and environmental services, said: “This is great news for residents, who will be able to get their fitness fix in safe and welcoming facilities, and great news for South Downs Leisure, which does a fantastic job running our centres while contributing a huge amount to the wider community.

“Reopening facilities after four months is not an easy task but I’ve been impressed with the steps and care that the management team at South Downs has taken to ready these valuable resources for action.

“While I appreciate that some will be disappointed the swimming pools will not immediately reopen, the safety of staff and customers must come first in these unprecedented times.”

Worthing Leisure Centre will be offering one of the largest gym spaces on the south coast, with plenty of room to socially distance and still make use of all the equipment. There will also be an extensive exercise class programme in various studios, as well as squash and table tennis.

Davison Leisure Centre will offer badminton, tennis and table tennis, in addition to the fitness studio, while Field Place will offer a number of exercise such as Pilates and yoga.Splashpoint Leisure Centre will be opening on Saturday August 1.