PLAY areas, outdoor gyms, public toilets and libraries are among the facilities which will remain shut in west Cheshire in June.

Cheshire West and Chester Council said it will continue to take a cautious approach to reopening facilities across the borough, guided by public health advice.

Practically all council facilities were forced to shut in March as part of the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.

Some facilities and services have reopened, but only when it was safe and appropriate to do so, and safe distancing and good infection control could be observed.

After a safety review, tennis courts, skate parks and multi-use game areas re-opened last week.

But playgrounds or outdoor gyms are to stay closed because of the higher risk connected with close contact or touching surfaces.

The following services and facilities will remain closed to the public during June:

  • Community centres and pavilions
  • Museums
  • Libraries
  • Archives service
  • Play areas and outdoor gyms
  • Public toilets
  • Chester’s Park & Ride service – the service remains closed but is currently being reviewed.
  • Sandy Lane Ferry – due to a need for social distancing the ferry is not operating at the moment.This will be reviewed in late June.

The council will carry out a further review on these facilities, and the council will only reopen them when it is confident it is safe to do so:

Residents will also see some online reporting topics are unavailable, such as grass cutting.

Teams have been supporting other essential work through the recovery period, but now endeavour to resume normal frequencies of grass cutting in some areas as soon as possible.

The Council’s leader and Cabinet Member for Wellbeing, Councillor Louise Gittins, said: “While our parks and green spaces have remained open during the period of lockdown, their facilities were originally closed in order to stop the spread of coronavirus and therefore protect our residents.

“I am sure many residents are delighted they are now able to enjoy time outdoors using sports and other facilities after they reopened last week.

"Unfortunately, there are other services which must remain closed at the moment as the pandemic continues.

“We are reviewing our other services regularly and will, of course, make decisions based on how best to keep everyone safe.”