Busy day at Kirkcaldy Leisure Centre as it re-opens its doors

Staff welcomed customers back on Monday as restrictions were eased further and Scotland moved into Level Three.

All the necessary health and safety protocols have been put in place at Kirkcaldy Leisure Centre which is operated by Fife Sports and Leisure Trust.

Paul Hossack, area leisure manager at the venue, said he was pleased to welcome locals back.

He said: “It was great to see customers back in the gym just after 8:00am. The swimming lesson programme has also started up again, and during this week we have 650 kids coming in to use the pool.

"Everyone has been booking in the last few days to get back into the gym and use our facilities and spaces are filling up fast which is great.”

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Mr Hossack said a lot of preparation has gone into the re-opening.

“This time we were more prepared because we have been through it before so we knew what to expect. The majority of our staff have been on furlough so we have started getting them back in the last two or three weeks to just get the centre ready for opening.”

Fife Sports and Leisure Trust is opening all its facilities at the same time this week, unlike the previous phased return – with the exception of the Beacon Leisure Centre in Burntisland.

The seaside town’s popular venue has specific challenges to operate safely, and work is still going on behind the scenes after Fife Council pledged to invest £1m in the facility.

Emma Walker, chief executive, has previously said staff are eager to get back and get ready to welcome customers.

She said: “Prior to the lockdown in December, we had enjoyed several months of service delivery and our health and safety measures were very robust – we received consistently high satisfactions scores from customers who felt staff were well informed and that social distancing and hygiene measures were of a very high standard.

“We are confident that we are in a very good position to welcome customers back.”

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