Coronavirus: Shropshire Council’s culture and leisure facilities prepare to re-open
Selected culture and leisure sites, facilities and services managed by Shropshire Council are preparing for a phased re-opening from Saturday 4 July 2020.
These latest preparations are in line with the recent easing of the lockdown restrictions announced by the Government.
Ahead of re-opening, sites will have appropriate measures in place to ensure social distancing and high hygiene standards can be maintained and the safety of visitors, staff and local communities is protected.
To ensure public and staff safety, some sites will only be re-opened partially.
Lezley Picton, Shropshire Council Cabinet member for culture, leisure, waste and communications, said:
“We’re pleased that we are able to start the phased re-opening of our visitor attractions, leisure and tourism facilities across Shropshire from 4 July 2020.
“We are working hard to ensure strict measures are in place to maintain social distancing and hygiene to achieve our number one priority – to protect the health and safety of staff, local communities and visitors.
“I’d like to thank everyone who has been following the lockdown rules so diligently and for showing patience and togetherness as we begin to move slowly back to something like normality.”
Where will be re-opening and when?
Severn Valley Country Park – Kiosk
From Saturday 4 July 2020 visitors to Severn Valley Country Park will be able to enjoy take-away food as the café re-opens. There are bins across the Park so please dispose of rubbish responsibly.
Public toilets will also be reopened and will be regularly cleaned to maintain public safety and high hygiene standards. In line with Government and Public Health England guidance, visitors are strongly advised to thoroughly wash their hands after using public toilets and regularly throughout the day.
Selected library services
A new ‘Ready Reads’ service will be launched on Monday 6 July 2020 by Shropshire Libraries offering an interim way for people to get hold of new books to read or listen to.
This service will operate from Oswestry, Ludlow and Shrewsbury libraries and is the first stage of the phased safe re-opening of libraries across the county. For more information, see the press release.
Stop. Café, Visitor Information Centre & museum shop at SM&AG
On Wednesday 8 July, stop. café bar will reopen at Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery. The café will have safety measures in place in line with Government guidance to protect the health and safety of staff and customers.
Measures will be in place to limit the number of people using the indoor and outdoor areas at any one time to enable social distancing and high hygiene standards will be maintained. It will be open from Wednesday – Sunday so they can closely monitor the impact of the measures put in place.
On the same day, the museum shop and visitor information centre will also re-open.
Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery, however, will remain closed until further notice to enable appropriate measures to be put in place. More information will be made available when appropriate.
Supporting Shropshire’s tourism sector
With the latest easing of coronavirus lockdown measures announced by the Government, Shropshire is preparing to safely welcome back local residents and visitors to its’ extraordinary culture and hospitality venues.
Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council have joined forces to support the delivery of a safe and sustainable restart of the tourism sector and are working with businesses and partners support permitted visitor and outdoor attractions to reopen safely.
What sites Shropshire Council are already open?
Country Parks, heritage sites and Public Rights of Way have remained open throughout the coronavirus pandemic and have been a lifeline for residents.
Meole Brace Golf Course is open for up to four people per tee with pre-booking being essential to maintain social distancing and the safety of staff, visitors and the local community.
Details about the re-opening of other sites will be announced in due course.
Work is ongoing to prepare other sites including leisure centres and theatres to be able to safely re-open in due course. For the meantime, these sites will remain closed for the continued protection of staff, visitors and communities.
For more information about how to stay safe when outdoors or visiting a site, see coronavirus pages on the Shropshire Council website.
