High Life Highland will take a phased approach to reopening facilities
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The chief executive of High Life Highland has said there will be a phased approach to the reopening of its facilities across the region – and warned that a return to normality "will not be like turning on a light switch".
Steve Walsh was speaking after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's statement about the latest measures to ease the lockdown in Scotland as HLH – which provides culture, learning, sport, leisure, health and wellbeing services – looks to fit in with the Scottish Government's route map out of the coronavirus crisis.
“I am grateful to our board of directors for their support, direction and guidance," Mr Walsh said. "We are delighted to be able to start talking about our plans to reopen some of our venues in line with the guidelines previously set out and highlighted by the First Minister.
"Our teams have already been working hard in the background preparing to bounce back from Covid-19 and begin to welcome our customers into facilities once again.
“While we are all keen to get back to some normality as quickly as possible, it is not going to be like turning a light switch on. We are planning a phased approach that will encompass thorough cleaning regimes, social distancing and hand-sanitising measures as part of the daily programme.
"To accommodate the new measures and provide a safe environment for our customers to enjoy means that our opening hours will have to be adjusted accordingly for the foreseeable future.”
Ian Ross, chairman of the HLH board, told fellow directors: “A substantial amount of work has gone on before and during lockdown to protect customers, staff and the wider services provided by the charity. That work will obviously continue in the forthcoming weeks and months to implement the Scottish Government’s route map.
"In addition, I am aware that HLH has many hundreds of staff currently on furlough leave and they have been using their work-related skills and qualifications to volunteer and assist with essential work in communities across the Highlands. On behalf of the board, I would like to thank the many HLH staff who have made such an important contribution over the last number of months."
The charity is considering introducing waiting lists for newcomers to its High Life membership scheme as, due to social distancing measures, capacities at venues are likely to be restricted at a time when demand is expected to be high.
The phased recovery process is being led by the charity's corporate programme manager, Simon Swanson.
Mr Swanson explained: “The situation facing us at the moment is very fluid with guidance being re-evaluated frequently. As a result we have to be flexible in our approach to reopening in terms of timing and feasibility.
“The latest announcement means we can start looking at outdoor locations, for example Inverness Botanic Gardens and Nursery, and how we will be able to operate the site at some level and still meet the current guidelines.
“We are already working on what phase three of the route map might look like and have identified that the increased use of technology will be vital to the process of reopening, allowing customers to book spaces and help us manage capacity within sites to ensure an enjoyable experience.
"We will monitor the guidelines closely over the coming weeks and will fully implement any further steps that may be required to protect people using our gym space, for example.
"We will be providing further updates through our website and social media channels once we have confirmed dates and timescales.”
