The Cotswold Leisure Centre in Cirencester is due to re-open its doors to the public on 1 March, following repairs to extensive flood damage.

The Centre’s plant room was damaged by an estimated 70,000 gallons of flood water on 20 July.

The Cotswold District Council estimates that more than £800,000 has been spent on the clean-up operation and the rebuilding work of the centre.

While the Centre has been closed, the Council has provided classes at local schools and offered members the use of its facilities at Tetbury, Fairford, Bourton and Chipping Campden at no charge.

The vast majority of the centre’s staff have been re-deployed by the council during the closure. Their new roles have included life guarding at the town’s open air pool and providing extra help to cover holidays across council teams, such as visitor information centres, housing and museums.

The Council’s Portfolio holder for Property & Benefits, Cllr Nick Parsons, said: “We fully appreciate that our members have now been without their leisure facilities in Cirencester for more than four months.

“We must not forget that this is a massive undertaking to rebuild the very heart of the centre requiring a great deal of complex work in a confined space.”