Billericay swimming pool to close following government advice

Billericay Swimming Pool is closing following government advice relating to the coronavirus outbreak. First Strokes, who manage the pool, wrote on Facebook:

Protecting our staff and you our loyal customers is our priority in this difficult time. It is with regret that we will be closing our centres as of Tuesday 17th March at 10pm 2020. We are unsure of the length of time we will be closed but will update all our customers and staff regularly with updates. All customer subscriptions and accounts will be placed on hold/frozen until further notice. We will be unable to process any refunds at this time. Those customers paying by Direct Debit will have their accounts frozen by the end of the week (Sunday 22nd March 2020). We will be unable to answer phone calls to you, however if you do have any queries please contact us using [email protected] 

The UK government has advised that everyone in the UK should now avoid “non-essential” travel and contact with others to fight coronavirus. Whilst it has not issued any ban on public gatherings of any size either indoors or outdoors at this stage, the advice is to avoid non-essential contact with others, including going to sporting events, pubs, clubs, theatres and social venues.

As a result, First Strokes advise that all face-to-face activity such as club training sessions, events, competitions, club committee and face-to-face meetings, swim camps, swim groups and social events should be suspended.

The decision has been taken in the interests of all our swimmer, parents, coaches, volunteers and the wider communities. This decision is also in alignment with actions taken by the local councils and is similar to action taken by other sports related businesses.

First Strokes will continue to review and monitor government advice and will provide detailed updates on the impact to our centres and lessons in the coming weeks. We appreciate that the current situation will undoubtedly place our members & staff in a difficult situation, and we are working with Swim England on the best way to help alleviate the situation and will update you as plans evolve.

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