PENDLE Wavelengths is to reopen next month after a fire in August, the leisure trust has announced.

As many as 100 people were evacuated from the building, in Leeds Road, when a blaze broke out in the Inside Spa.

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The leisure centre has now been cleaned by specialists and professionally painted ready to open its doors again to the public on Monday, November 2.

The normal timetable will resume at 7am, allowing early morning swimmers and gym-users to get back into their routines.

The pool, gym and dance studio will open on November 2, but the junior gym will not, as it is being used for access to the gym and dance studio.

Pendle Leisure Trust chief executive, Phil Storey, said: “We’d like to thank our customers for their patience and understanding during this time.

“Whilst we appreciate that this temporary closure may have caused some inconvenience, I would like to assure all of our customers that we have worked hard to ensure that a normal service resumed as soon as feasibly possible.

“We are fortunate that we have other centres and have been able to use them over the last two months to provide our customers with alternative venues to make sure disruption was kept to a minimum.”

A temporary junior timetable will be put in place at Seedhill Athletics and Fitness Centre and Pendle Wavelengths.

The changing rooms will also not reopen, but the poolside changing rooms will be available, except between 9am and 12.30pm, Monday to Friday, while school swimming is taking place.

The junior gym and changing rooms are expected to open within the next couple of weeks.

Inside Spa’s nail bar and treatment rooms will also open on November 2, but the spa itself will not open until some time in the New Year.

Quammer Iqbal, Pendle Wavelengths’ centre manager, said: “I would personally like to thank customers for their patience.

“Obviously, we wanted to re-open our facilities as soon as possible and now we can, my staff and I are looking forward to welcoming everyone back.”

When the fire happened customers, including people in just their swimming costumes, were evacuated. They were given foil blankets and taken by bus to the nearby Ace Centre where they were given food and hot drinks.

Only when the building was deemed safe were they allowed to re-enter to collect belongings.