11What to expect from gyms and res

Gym gets in shape for life after lockdown

By NEVE WILKINSON

An independent gym that opened just before lockdown last year and had to close its doors almost immediately is looking forward to welcoming members again.

Chalk And Steel is a small gym in north Warrington that opened just two weeks before the first national lockdown back in March 2020.

Alongside other gyms, retail, and outdoor hospitality, they’re set to open again on April 12, although restrictions will still be in place. A Covid-19 capacity, based on how many square feet the gym covers, means only a certain amount of people will be allowed in.

During July to September, when gyms were first open with restrictions, Chalk And Steel often came close to meeting its capacity and started a traffic light system, mainly using social media, to let customers know to ‘hang fire’for an hour or come another day.

At Chalk And Steel, the changing rooms have had to remain closed.

Manager Tracy Thorp said: “We’ve had our changing rooms closed, apart from the first two weeks when we were open, so until we get the green light that all restrictions are lifted, we won’t have any changing rooms.

“I think in our particular gym, I’m not so sure customers actually remember that we’ve got changing rooms so it will be a nice, pleasant surprise when we can open the changing rooms again.”

When they first reopened in July, the gym used an appointment booking system to make sure they kept to their Covid-19 capacity and knew who was in the gym, for track and trace reasons. on, they will not begin to increase staffing levels until the business is satisfied that there will probably be no more lockdowns.

Although ChalkAnd Steel did offer full refunds to members, as they didn’t think it fair to keep people’s money without knowing when gyms were due to reopen, a lot of loyal members opted for credit time rather than refunds, meaning they will be eager to get straight back into the gym on the April 12 and soon unfreeze their memberships.

Tracy said: “I’ve not got any fear about our existing members coming back, I think we’ve got an established local base of clients that will hopefully come flooding back.”

When they re-open in April, they will not be introducing the booking system again but will ask customers to keep an eye out on social media for the traffic light system.

“I think everybody will be reasonably eager to get back to it particularly as it’s getting closer to summer as well,” added Tracy.

Tracy recalled the first lockdown, which began last spring: “At the time it was devastating because we were open for such a short period of time but the fact that we were a trading business at the time enabled us to secure grants and financial help from the government.”

Unlike many other UK businesses, Chalk And Steel have been lucky enough to have kept all their staff throughout the pandemic.

Tracy was hired by the directors to help with managing the staff, the stock, the admin, and the memberships. In normal circumstances, they would have continued to hire more staff but with everything going

At the time it was devastating but we were able to secure grants and financial help

Independent gym Chalk And Steel was forced to close almost as soon as it had opened

Nightlife scene’s ‘cautious optimism’ for what the future holds

Bars such as the Einstein, above, and the Peacock, top right, hope to be able to re-open on April 12

As pubs are getting ready to re-open next month, the company behind some of Liverpool’s most popular venues has said it is excited about welcoming customers again.

The news of the reopening plans comes after Pub Invest Group, the largest independent operator in Liverpool, recently announced the creation of 100 new jobs in the hospitality sector.

Venues have also received a further boost after it was announced that the city’s nightclubs will take part in a Covid pilot scheme for crowd-testing events to see whether the model could be rolled out across the country.

Pub Invest Group owns some of Liverpool’s most well-known pubs and restaurants including the Einstein, McCooleys, Level, Brooklyn Mixer and others.

Whilst indoor spaces will remain closed until May, pubs and restaurants with outdoor spaces will be able to reopen from April 12, they will no longer be subjected to having a 10 pm curfew and serving customers a substantial meal with alcohol will not be required.

Pub Invest Group said its city centre sites, including, Soho, Moloko, Peacock, Celtic Corner, Einstein and both of McCooleys’ city centre hubs will reopen as part of its plans.

Head of Marketing Phil Gillespie said: “We’re happy the curfew has been scrapped, which made no sense in controlling transmission of the virus or allowing our businesses hope of making money, which is positive news.”

Mr Gillespie spoke of the challenges still facing the hospitality industry.

He said: “There are supply chain and staffing issues which might affect the first few weeks after opening behind the scenes.

“But we’re excited that the appetite to get back into the bars is there from the public.”

By DAVID DIANGIENDA

Public opinion split over re-opening

By JAYKE BROPHY

Opinion has been split over plans to use Liverpool for a number of major trial events to test the procedures of restriction-free events ahead of the summer.

Places including a Nightclub and Comedy Club will be opened next month, without restrictions, to test the safety of large crowds returning to events without social distancing measures.

While it remains unknown which venues will be used during the trial, and how many different events will take place, reaction on social media has been mixed. There is an amount of excitement over the possibility of some brief moments of normality being potentially just over a month away. However many have questioned the safety of the trials. One Twitter user said, “No masks and no distancing sounds like a recipe for disaster, and clubs staying closed even longer.”

Many may be feeling a sense of deja vu following the heavy surge in cases in December after the city was the only one in the North West to be able to open bars and restaurants after December’s lockdown. On this issue, another Twitter user said, “As long as this doesn’t mean the entire country will come to Liverpool like they did in December (these trials) are good.”

It is thought that one of the main reasons Liverpool looks to have been chosen as the city to house test events is the region’s success in November with the mass-testing pilot. People attending any of the club or comedy nights will be asked to take advantage of mass testing to ensure they are negative for COVID both before and after attending events.

Science experts will also be in attendance to watch how people behave without restrictions and the impact it may have on the transmission of the virus. The way in which people get to these events, such as the increased use of public transport, will also be monitored.

Despite the negativity and fears surrounding the trial, many people seem happy at the possibility of the first sign of a restriction-free life in almost a year, providing it can be done safely. One Facebook user said, “if the virus incidence rate is very low and everyone is tested it may be possible to make this work safely.”

The biggest fear among people online

If the virus incidence rate is very low and everyone is tested it may be possible to make this work ”

seems to be people from around the country traveling to Liverpool, much like in December, to partake in these tests events. If the trials follow the same style as taken by both Liverpool and Everton FC when they were given permission to allow 2,000 supporters into their grounds for a number of games in December however, they will be restricted to people with an ‘L’ postcode.

April 12 looks set to see the reopening of things such as the retail industry, gyms and hairdressers across the country.

It is perhaps these trial events in Liverpool, and the testing of bringing crowds back to sporting events with the FA Cup final in London and the Snooker World Championships in Sheffield, however, that will show us the likelihood of returning to normal anytime soon.