06/01/2021 - Permalink

Shropshire Council’s culture and leisure facilities closed

Related topics: Community / Coronavirus / Leisure, culture and heritage

Following the Government’s announcement of a national lockdown in England to help curb the spread of coronavirus, all libraries, museums and leisure facilities managed by Shropshire Council are closed to the public.

The temporary closure will remain in place until further notice.

The closure means all events, meetings and group volunteering at these sites will also be cancelled to reduce social interaction and protect Shropshire residents.

Although facilities have had to close, many can still be accessed online from the safety of your home. These include the e-library, Mindful Museums and Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery at Home and the online collections of Shropshire Archives.

The sites and facilities closed are:

Museums

  • Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery
  • Shropshire Museums Collection Centre in Ludlow
  • Shrewsbury Castle
  • Much Wenlock Museum
  • Coleham Pumping Station
  • Severn Valley Country Park Visitor Centre
  • The Bungalow at The Mere at Ellesmere

Acton Scott Historic Working Farm, which was due to reopen on Friday 8 January 2021, will remain closed until further notice.

Archives

  • Shropshire Archives: We are maintaining our remote services and more information is on our website.

Libraries

Libraries are closed for public access, but will operate a click & collect service. For more information, visit https://www.shropshire.gov.uk/libraries/library-news/impact-of-third-lockdown-on-libraries-5-jan-update/.

Closed libraries include:

  • Shrewsbury
  • Oswestry
  • Bridgnorth
  • Whitchurch
  • Market Drayton
  • Ludlow
  • Bayston Hill
  • Church Stretton
  • Gobowen
  • Pontesbury
  • Wem
  • The Lantern, Shrewsbury
  • Much Wenlock

Community-managed libraries

  • Albrighton
  • Bishop’s Castle
  • Broseley
  • Cleobury Mortimer
  • Craven Arms
  • Highley
  • Ellesmere
  • Shifnal
  • Mobile libraries

Leisure centres

Managed by Shropshire Council

  • Much Wenlock Leisure Centre
  • Idsall Sports Centre
  • Roman Road Sports Centre, Shrewsbury
  • SpArC, Bishop’s Castle
  • Church Stretton Sports Centre

For the above sites all memberships will be automatically frozen and no membership payments will be taken; there is no need to cancel your Direct Debit or your membership.

Managed by South Shropshire Leisure (Teme)

  • Cleobury Mortimer Sports Centre
  • Ludlow Leisure Centre

Managed by Shropshire Community Leisure Trust

  • Shrewsbury Sports Village
  • The Quarry Swimming and Fitness Centre, Shrewsbury
  • Oswestry Leisure Centre
  • Market Drayton Swimming Centre
  • Whitchurch Swimming Centre

Managed by Halo Leisure

  • Bridgnorth Endowed Leisure Centre
  • Severn Centre, Highley

Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, the Old Market Hall, Shrewsbury and Meole Brace Golf Course, Shrewsbury are also closed for the duration of the lockdown.

Facilities that will remain open:

Country parks, green spaces and outdoor play areas will remain open for you to exercise and enjoy the fresh air. Where possible, please only visit your local parks and green spaces. You can find more information by visiting the Shropshire’s Great Outdoors website.

For local advice and support during the pandemic (especially if you are self-isolating), call Shropshire Council’s COVID-19 Helpline on 0345 678 9028 (lines open on the weekend on Saturday from 9am-4pm and Sunday 9am-12pm) or visit our website at www.shropshire.gov.uk/coronavirus.

Official Guidelines

The new lockdown restrictions for Shropshire will mean everyone must Stay at Home and may leave only for a limited set of reasons. These include:

  • Shop for basic necessities, for you or a vulnerable person.
  • Go to work, or provide voluntary or charitable services, if you cannot reasonably do so from home.
  • Exercise with your household (or support bubble) or one other person, this should be limited to once per day, and you should not travel outside your local area.
  • Meet your support bubble or childcare bubble where necessary, but only if you are legally permitted to form one.
  • Seek medical assistance or avoid injury, illness or risk of harm (including domestic abuse).
  • Attend education or childcare – for those eligible.

Other measures include:

  • Restaurants can continue to offer delivery for food.
  • Clinically extremely vulnerable people must shield.
  • Outdoor sports venues – such as golf courses, tennis courts and outside gyms – must close.
  • Amateur team sports are not allowed, but elite sport can continue.

Further details about the lockdown measures can be found here – www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home

For more information, please contact using the following email addresses:

Country parks –  outdoor.recreation@shropshire.gov.uk

Museums – museumeducation@shropshire.gov.uk

Leisure centres – leisure@shropshire.gov.uk

Libraries – libraries@shropshire.gov.uk