Latest News

An update from the trustees on reopening Penistone Leisure Centre:

July 10, 2020 Leave a Comment

We were very pleased to hear the government announcement that we can reopen from the 25th July, and are keen to welcome you all back in.

However, we are not quite at the end of our refurbishment and are also cautious about opening all the different activities we usually run at once, as that will be very hard to manage in a covid-secure way.

We are initially going to have a soft opening of the gym just to our gym instructors and then to our volunteers, and so it will be invitation only to start with. That way, when we open to the public we will be confident that we are keeping you all safe.

Classes, skating and everything else will all follow on as soon as we are able to – so please look out for more announcements.

We look forwards to seeing you soon!

An Update on Painting the Sports Hall…

July 7, 2020 Leave a Comment

Our brilliant supporters have managed to pull together and raise a fantastic £1447 towards the painting of the Sports Hall.

In order to have this difficult space professionally cleaned and painted we need a total of £6,300, and we need to get it done ASAP whilst we are still closed to the public, to avoid further closures or disruption down the line.

So, to be able to go ahead and complete the works, we have taken the decision to go ahead and apply for a business loan from ‘Key Fund’ (who lend to community groups and social enterprises) which will allow us to complete this area of the refurbishment.

Without the hall being painted, the refurbishment will feel incomplete, so it really is an essential spend!

Work should start on the repainting of the hall very soon! We hope to have it done by the time we re-open (current estimate is the end of the July, subject to Government guidelines).

Meanwhile, our volunteers have had a busy weekend! There has been big progress on painting the newly plastered areas of the building- the new corridor which allows centre users to bypass the main hall is looking clean and smart with its first coat of paint on! And the new false ceilings have gone in to the Kitchen, Waiting Area and Changing Spaces.

The skates are now organised and arranged onto the new custom built shelving in the skate store.

The new back room gym has had a thorough cleaning and the rubber mat flooring has been installed into the area of the gym earmarked for free weights. The rest of the floor has had multiple coats of specialist paint, and movers have been in this morning to install the gym equipment into its new home. This room is the first properly finished area of the centre and we’re incredibly proud of the team that have made it happen!

We think it looks great! What do you think?

In order to be ready to open by the end of the month, the volunteers will be working every weekend Saturday from 10am-1pm or 2-4pm and Sunday 10am-2pm. Are you able to come along and help paint or clean? It’s taken a monumental effort so far and we need many hands to make light work and get us over that finish line! Let us know if you can help…

When Are We Reopening?

July 1, 2020 Leave a Comment

Obviously we want to reopen as soon as possible and welcome you all back!

However, we can’t open to the general public until we are given the all clear from the government for Gyms/Leisure Facilities. There is a massive amount of work to be done to ensure that we can be ‘Covid Secure’ and keep all our centre users safe when that day comes. Our trustees and staff are working hard on these plans as well as the refurbishment, to make reopening as smooth and as safe as possible.

It’s likely that things will have to be quite different for a while in order to maintain a safe environment. We are working on installing a booking system on our website in order to allow people to pre-book their spaces on a class or the gym, so that we can safely limit numbers of attendees, and avoid disappointment.

We are hoping to be open to the public by the end of July, but it is likely that not all aspects of the refurbishment will be totally complete, so there may be areas of the centre that aren’t 100% beautiful yet! Though we think you’ll be really impressed with the progress…

Here is a photo of what our brilliant builders are up to this week! The installation of the new ramp and paved walk way at the front of the centre.

New paved level access to the front door and ramp were made possible by funding from Yor4Good Fund and Co-op Community Fund. Huge ‘Thank you’ to them for their contributions!

We would welcome volunteers for this Saturday (4th July) between 10am-4pm to paint the newly plastered corridors, and Sunday (5th July) 10am-4pm to clean the gym equipment that has been stored in the hall, and clean the newly installed flooring in the new weights room ready for the gym equipment to be moved in there properly next week! Please let us know if you can help.

If you aren’t able to give your time, but are able to contribute financially, we’re fundraising towards the costs of re-painting the hall! You can make your donation by clicking HERE

Thanks for their help with the refurbishment also goes to-

A Last Resort…

June 30, 2020 Leave a Comment

The heart of the leisure centre is the main sports hall, which has been looking tatty and in desperate need of refurbishment for many years. The hall is 8m high at the apex, and it is just far too big of a job to ask volunteers to do. So we are starting a fundraising campaign to raise the £6,300 (inc. VAT) we need to paint the hall.

Our fantastic volunteers have so far, put in an amazing 350 hours of their time to get areas of the centre that are finished painted and ready to occupy as soon as we are able to open again. However, there is a LOT more still to do!!

We are aware it’s a terrible time to be asking for money- but many of the grants we had earmarked to apply for have dried up, and we have obviously not had our usual income due to having to be closed, so this really is a last resort.

If you aren’t able to donate your time, then please consider donating any amount that you are able to afford. Even small amounts will add up, especially if you are able to add gift aid to your donation (please scroll down the donation page and complete the gift aid declaration to add 25% extra to your donation at no extra cost to yourself)

Without the sports hall being painted, the refurbishment will feel incomplete, and if we have to wait to have this work done, it will require a further (minimum) 2 week closure down the line and more loss of income. We really feel it’ll let the centre down if we have to reopen without having the hall refurbished, and that feels like we’re letting all the volunteers who have given so many hours of their time down too.

Could you donate the cost of your usual gym membership? Or what you’d normally be spending at Roller Skating with us? Or even what you have saved on petrol by working from home?

Donate to help us paint the hall!

We’d love the hall to look as great as the rest of the centre, which has been refurbished and painted by our brilliant volunteers. But the hall is too big and high – we need the professionals! Any help would be much appreciated!

Donate

Our Local Heroes

June 18, 2020 Leave a Comment

It’s been such a time for local heroes recently!

Today our hero has been local farmer, James Peace who has been out with his nifty bit of farm kit and moved our massive storage container from one side of the car park to the other. This has made space for the builders to be able to start working on the emergency fire escape ramps from the hall and the cafe.

Huge thank you to James who came out in the rain (tough stuff farmers!) and at short notice to sort us out! We really appreciate it.

He solved a massive problem for us which now means we can now fill the empty container with our tables and chairs and gym mats etc, which we need out of the way ready for our painting weekend!