Buxton Pool to open free space for community this winter

Funding from Derbyshire County Council means the St John’s Road venue will be hosting a warm space every Monday for the community.

Sarah Johnson, active in the communities development manager for the centre said: “This is a great initiative and one for the whole community.

“It’s for people who need to not be at home using their own heating, it’s for people who may go days without talking to another person, or someone who is just looking for a chance to meet new people.

“We ran our winter warmer last year and it was lovely to see people coming together making use of our space.

“This year we are offering more, including exercise sessions which will be good.”

Every Monday between 1.30-2.30pm the fitness centre will be offering free low-level exercise sessions, then 2.30pm-3.30pm they can access free wifi, free warm drink, chat, play games, read the paper and socialise with others.

Sarah said: “Exercise is good for your physical and mental health and it keeps you warm too.

“And we want to do all we can to help people feel good.

“We will be doing a low level exercise session which can even be done on chairs if mobility or balance is an issue.”

After the exercise class there will be a social session where people can play board games, read or just chat together as well as accessing the free wi-fi.

Sarah said: “We want to get more involved with all aspects of community life. We want to be a place where people can meet, chat and for those who are feeling vulnerable or lonely then know we are there for you and you can come to the winter warmer and hopefully we can help make things better for you.

“For those who are in financial difficulties we are not in a position to offer help however we can signpost you to those who can.”

The programme, which started this month, will be running until the end of February and all services and drinks are free.