The gym and leisure club at Huddersfield’s Cedar Court Hotel is to close its swimming pool, sauna and spa bath.

The chain, which also runs hotels in Bradford and Wakefield, has announced it will re-open its gym at Ainley Top on July 1 but the ‘wet facilities’ will be shut down.

In a letter to members managing director Wayne Topley said that when its hotels were closed in March 2020 the company took the opportunity to “review the ongoing financial viability of every aspect of our business.”

The letter says the Huddersfield leisure club ran at a loss before March 2020 with decreasing membership.

It added: “Any attempts to reopen/launch the facility have consistently been met with a low take-up and further losses. As a result, we will again not be reopening the wet facilities (swimming pool/Jacuzzi) within this site.”

The gym and changing rooms would re-open on July 1 from 5.30am-10pm seven days a week. Membership fees will be £16 a month.

The pool at Wakefield will remain but the one in Bradford – which the company says costs £70,000 a year just to heat – will not re-open.

Gyms have been badly hit during the pandemic

The letter says: “In respect of these changes, all membership packages will now remain frozen, and no further fees will be taken from either Huddersfield or Bradford members during these changes (as has been the case for the last 15 months).

“This decision has not been easy, and the outcome has not been reached without looking at a range of options and outcomes.

“Our intention for the new two gym operations is to create new facilities that will add value to our members and our hotels – and we are looking at a number of ways of doing so.

READ MORE: Former Total Fitness gym set to re-open

“As we move into (slightly) more forecastable periods of trading, we look forward to further developing the offering and membership benefits as we move towards this new style of fitness club.”

A long-standing member of the club described the decision as “very disappointing” and said: “This is a really poor decision. I’ll be looking to find a gym and pool elsewhere and I’m sure of lot of others will be too.”

The pandemic has meant a big shake up in the gym market in Huddersfield. Total Fitness at Waterloo, a popular gym with a pool, shut down after the company announced it wouldn’t re-open after lockdown. The landlords are understood to be talking with potential new operators.

Meanwhile, there was better news when low-cost operator truGym opened up this month in the former DW Fitness premises at Moldgreen, which also has a pool.

READ MORE: Swimming lessons offered at new truGym in Moldgreen

Cedar Court Hotels did not respond to a request for a comment.

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