CIMSPA, CLUK and ukactive letter to the Welsh Government

On 8 August, CIMSPA, CLUK and ukactive wrote a joint letter to the Welsh Government, urgently requesting a change to some of the proposed guidance for the reopening of indoor gyms, leisure centres, fitness studios and swimming pools.

The proposed limit of 30 people within any indoor facility will seriously impact the ability of many facilities to open in a commercially viable way.

The letter, signed by the CEOs of CIMSPA, CLUK and ukactive, says:

“We write as representatives of the sport, leisure and physical activity sector to urgently request a change to some of the proposed guidance for the reopening of indoor gyms, leisure centres, fitness studios and swimming pools in Wales.

While we naturally welcome this morning’s confirmation that these parts of the sector can reopen in Wales from Monday 10 August, there is a key aspect of the proposed guidance that, if kept in place, will seriously impact the ability of many facilities to open in a commercially viable way.

As it stands, the proposal for an upper limit of 30 people within any indoor facility (with 2m social distancing) will place an unworkable restriction on many larger facilities, rendering them unable to provide vital health and leisure services to their communities. Many private and public providers’ income will already be severely compromised as a result of the lockdown and, should the upper limit of 30 people be required, many facilities will simply become unviable and will not reopen.

Many of the indoor facilities in Wales can comfortably accommodate significantly more than 30 people at a time, while maintaining safe social distancing, ventilation, hygiene and other practices. In place of this limit, we would respectfully suggest basing maximum occupancy on the formula of 3 sq m (or 100 sq ft) per person (plus the 2m social distancing and ventilation guidance) that was developed in ukactive’s framework for re-opening and adopted successfully in England and Northern Ireland.

We are confident that this policy would provide a safe environment for those working in and using indoor facilities, while allowing the sector to begin to reopen in a commercially viable way.

We look forward to your response and to continuing to work closely with the Welsh Government, Sport Wales, the Welsh Sports Association and others to support this sector which, as you will be aware, adds enormous social, health and economic value to the country.”

CIMSPA will continue to work with the WSA, CLUK and ukactive and other partners to provide reopening support and guidance to the sector in Wales.