BRIGHOUSE swimming pool and the town's library are to reopen next week, it has been announced.

Calderdale Council is planning the safe, phased reopening of its sports and leisure facilities, and more of its libraries following the recent reopening of the Central Library and Archives in Halifax.

New safety measures in place will help protect people from COVID-19, and include reduced opening hours, significant reductions on the number of people allowed in the buildings at any one time, and additional cleaning.

Both the swimming pool and library in Brighouse will reopen from Wednesday, September 9.

They have been closed since March in line with Government guidance, to reduce the spread of the virus.

Councillor Susan Press, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, said: “We’re really pleased to be able to start welcoming people back to our leisure centres and more of our libraries soon. We know that many people have missed using these services, and we thank them for being patient, staying active in a variety of other ways and using our digital library facilities and Home Library Service.

“Keeping everyone well is always our priority, and we had to be confident that we could reopen our facilities safely. As Calderdale’s COVID-19 rates have been amongst the highest in the country in recent weeks, it has been vital to take a cautious and phased approach to reopening services, to help us manage the risk effectively.

“People returning to our sports centres and libraries will notice some changes and extra safety measures. We urge everyone to respect these and remain vigilant whilst enjoying the facilities. We all need to keep doing our bit to protect each other.”

The teaching pool at Brighouse Swimming Pool will initially remain closed to allow repairs to be undertaken.