With fitness and leisure facilities temporarily closed, Parkwood has been working with local authorities and NHS trusts to open sites to support the rollout of Covid-19 testing and vaccinations.

These include North Devon Leisure Centre, which has delivered over 3,500 vaccinations to date, and Woodgreen Leisure Centre in Banbury and Biddulph Leisure Centre in Staffordshire, which are both being used for testing.

Further sites are also being prepared ahead of supporting other local communities; in addition, Penzance Leisure Centre will be hosting blood donor sessions next month in support of the NHS’s efforts to keep donor appointments.

“We want to do all that we can to help the efforts against Covid-19, and repurposing our centres whilst they’re closed provides extra capacity for testing and vaccinations within our local communities,” said Glen Hall, managing director of Parkwood Leisure.

“We’ve also been able to provide centre staff to support in the set-up and delivery of these services where required.”