Leisure centres in the Harborough district are backing a nationwide petition to keep gyms open amid the national Covid-19 lockdown

Leisure centres in the Harborough district are backing a fast-growing nationwide petition to keep gyms open amid the national Covid-19 lockdown.

They are now desperately pushing to be recognised as an ‘essential service’ amid month-long closures.

Harborough Leisure Centre and Lutterworth Sports Centre, managed by sports and leisure operator Everyone Active with Harborough council, were also forced to shut for several months when the first lockdown was imposed in March.

Matthew Hopkin, Everyone Active’s area contract manager, said: “This is an incredibly difficult time for the leisure industry and our centres in Harborough.

“We are urging our members to get behind us and to support their local centre by signing the petition to encourage the Government to keep gyms open here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/333869”

He added: “We're so proud of all our colleagues for their hard work and dedication to providing a safe environment for our customers and can’t wait to re-open our doors once again.”

Everyone Active’s Managing Director, David Bibby, warned that shorter hours of sunlight and colder weather will affect people’s mental health.

Research by industry body ukactive shows that 58 per cent of people managed their well being by being active during the last lockdown.

They highlighted the crucial role gyms and leisure facilities can play in providing vital sanctuaries for boosting both physical and mental health this winter.

Everyone Active have implemented a string of strict operational measures to ensure the utmost safety across gym, swimming, group exercise and activities to protect both customers and staff.

The regime included online booking systems to manage capacity at its centres and rigorous cleaning regimes, which the company believes contributes to the low transmission rate reported across gyms.

“However, these efforts have been met with a news of a month’s closure rather than recognition of the statistical data which reinforces the safe use of leisure centres,” said Everyone Active.