A LEISURE centre in Herefordshire which has been closed for more than a year has suffered further delays to its planned reopening.
Halo Leisure says it is working hard to ensure the Bromyard Centre can reopen, but that won't be until the end of the summer.
The centre, which is owned by Herefordshire Council, was forced to close in March 2020 due to the first national coronavirus lockdown, but roof damage scuppered plans to reopen the centre in July along with other across the county.
The August date was then missed due to what Herefordshire Council has called "severe and deliberate" vandalism to the roof.
There has ongoing works by contractors E G Carter and Co to get the building watertight again, and now internal works are underway.
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The internal work needed includes replacing electric systems, Halo said.
Bromyard and Winslow Town Council was told by ward councillor Nigel Shaw in April that the end of May was a new target date for the centre's reopening.
But Herefordshire Council said "the substantial water damage caused by the vandalism" is still progressing.
Alex Haines, Halo’s partnership manager, said: “The task of replacing the electrical system including the fire alarms/emergency lighting throughout the entire centre is more extensive than we initially thought.
"This means we will not reopen this month along with the other Halo centres in the county as we had all hoped and planned for. We are very disappointed but this crucial work is needed to make the building safe.”
Herefordshire Council said it and the contractors are doing all they can to progress as quickly as possible within the "demanding constraints" of a Covid compliant workplace.
The two organisations say they have "developed a scheme of work which indicates a handover to Halo by the end of the summer 2021".
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Chris Jenner, assistant director for technical services at Herefordshire Council, said: “We know that Halo customers and the community in general are anxious to see their centre reopen as soon as possible.
"We share in the frustration that this unnecessary hardship has brought about for the town, at a time when the benefits of activity, exercise and community cohesion have never been more essential and appreciated.”
Alex Haines added: “Everyone involved is working hard to reopen the centre.
"We care passionately about keeping community leisure centres open and viable for the long term.
"We've done it for nearly 20 years in Bromyard and we intend to continue to do so for many years to come.”
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