Communities across Cornwall are being urged to support their local leisure centres and help protect them from permanent closure.

Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) runs 14 Better leisure facilities across Cornwall on behalf of Cornwall Council. It is a charitable social enterprise and not-for-profit organisation and employs over 900 people in the county.

All GLL leisure centres and swimming pools reopened last week as lockdown lifted – and their head of service James Curry says it’s a case of “use it or lose it”.

“We’re working really hard to keep everyone safe, and keeping fit and healthy has never been more important,” he said.

“We’re really pleased with the very positive feedback we’ve been getting and urge people to use their local leisure centres as much as possible. We have opened all our leisure facilities, including swimming pools, this week, but long periods of closure have obviously had a severe impact on our finances. This really is a case of use what’s available or risk not having it there in the future.”

Earlier in the autumn, Cornwall Council provided a £6m financial relief?package for the county’s leisure centre providers, including loans, loan holidays, grants and contract payments.

The local authority says it still needs extra support from the Government to protect the long-term future of the centres.

But it wants the public to play their part by using the centres now that they’re open again.

Senior Cornwall Councillor Mike Eathorne-Gibbons said: “We live in a beautiful county that is predominantly surrounded by water. We desperately need these centres to ensure that children can learn how to swim and that families have access to facilities to help them stay healthy and active.”

Adam Paynter, deputy leader of Cornwall Council, said: “The Council has provided significant funding to support leisure centres this year. Without extra support from the government there is a risk that some centres may have to close if they continue operating at a loss. We are urging local communities to support their local centres to help prevent this from happening.”

GLL is offering half price membership throughout December, with no joining fee. For details, visit https://www.better.org.uk/memberships/gym-membership-deals-and-offers.

The provider says it has implemented measures under coronavirus regulations to keep its centres as safe and comfortable as possible.

This means centres are operating at reduced capacity and all activities must be booked in advance through the Better UK app.

Details on how to do this are available on https://www.better.org.uk/coronavirus/booking or by visiting a centre and asking staff to help.