LEISURE centres in Tavistock and Okehampton are starting to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, councillors have been told.

Fusion, the company who run Meadowlands in Tavistock and Parklands in Okehampton, say the number of customers using the centres was still down on 2019 levels - the year before the pandemic sent the UK into lockdown.

But company representative Peter King told West Devon Borough Council’s hub committee that while there had been uncertainty over the possible effects of the new Omicron variant of the virus, 2022 looked encouraging for the two centres.

He said the year had been a difficult one for the leisure industry after the Covid virus had shut the centres, which had gradually opened as restrictions aimed at the keeping the public safe had been eased.

Mr King said: ’We are still operating below 2019 figures, so we are still in recovery. But there is a real confidence at the moment and we had a positive January where we had more than 600 members join us.

’We are generally on the right path and it is looking like a good start to 2022.’

Fusion run both centres on behalf of the council, who were being asked to give the company a little over £58,000 to help both centres recover from the effects of the pandemic. The money will be paid back over a period of time.

Cllr Caroline Mott said: ’We have been lucky to keep the centres going, as I know there a lot of councils who are having discussion over whether to keep theirs going or not. I would make a plea to residents to use the centres and make the most of them while we have them.’