UNITED KINGDOM / AGILITYPR.NEWS / July 20, 2020 / Chelmsford’s The Old Factory gym, part of Anglia Ruskin University announces plans to reopen

The Old Factory on Brook Street in Chelmsford, part of Anglia Ruskin University, can announce that it will be reopening on Thursday 30th July. The final touches are being made to re-open safely for members of the Chelmsford community, students and staff. 

The move comes as thousands of gyms and leisure centres across the UK prepare to re-open following the government announcement last week allowing indoor gyms, leisure facilities and pools to re-open from Saturday 25 July.     

During this time of forced closure, The Old Factory team has taken time to upskill the staff team, upgrade and redefine its health and safety procedures and review operating standards to ensure social distancing and hygiene is at the highest levels. 

Changes have been made to allow members to exercise in a safe way. Members will now be asked to book on a specific slot to come along to train. This is to ensure capacities are monitored and that the team have 30 minutes between each session to fully clean and sanitise all the equipment. 

Increased sanitisation stations have been installed for member use to ensure the highest possible standards of hygiene and cleanliness.

There will be signs guiding members on how to act safely and responsibly, similar to the signs used in supermarkets, and some equipment may be marked as ‘out of use’ or spaced further apart to comply with social distancing rules. Due to the spacious layout of the gym at The Old Factory staff have been able to keep this to a minimum whilst still meeting Government guidelines. 

Changing rooms and showers will also be temporarily unavailable, meaning that members are asked to arrive on site wearing the appropriate clothing to be active. 

The temporary measures will be adapted as and when government advice changes throughout the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Martin Beaver, Head of Sport for Anglia Ruskin University wants to reassure members of the facility that they will be safe. He says: “Of course it’s an exciting time for our members and indeed ourselves to be preparing to re-open but health and safety remains top of our agenda. As the Government and public health experts ease the current restrictions, we want to ensure that members and users feel comfortable and safe using our facilities.”

Martin adds: “We also want to remind people that we still have plenty of capacity to welcome new members. The Old Factory offers a large refurbished fitness facility with all new gym equipment including a multi-functional fitness rig, Olympic lifting platforms, two ten metre sled tracks as well as a wide variety of cardiovascular equipment, fixed resistance machines and free weights. The gym also has a large fitness studio and dedicated spin studio. Anyone interested in finding out more should contact us by emailing: TheOldFactory@aru.ac.uk” 

Fitness and leisure facilities were forced to close by the Government on 20 March, meaning that members have been unable to access some of their favourite activities and sports.

Recent research conducted by Sport England and Savanta ComRes* showed 87% of gym members said they are likely to resume their membership when facilities reopen and 27% of people who are not currently members of gyms said they are likely to join.

*Polling from Sport England and Savanta ComRes May 2020.