THE swimming pools at Musselburgh and North Berwick will reopen this Friday after a delay due to "significant snagging and safety concerns".

enjoyleisure, which runs the facilities on behalf of East Lothian Council, said that both pools were fitted with brand new booms and floating floors at the end of 2020.

Work continued on the pool upgrades during lockdown, although at a much more restrictive pace due to Covid-19 restrictions.

A spokesperson for enjoyleisure said: "The delay in reopening was due to significant snagging and safety concerns. We did not want to put any of our customers at any potential risk. We fully appreciate the delay caused considerable frustration and we too were just as eager to open these facilities.

"Further work on the booms is still required to make them fully operational. Meantime, the floating floors have been secured at a depth of 1.6 metres and we can now reopen the pools for public swimming. Please note, at this depth, diving is not permitted and aqua classes/swimming lessons will take place from the shallow end of the pool.

"Unfortunately, a further period of closure, at some future date, will be necessary to make the floors and boom fully functional. Engineers are working up their plans and ordering the necessary materials to complete this work, along with organising specialist sub-contractors. We will keep all our customers updated as and when we have further details of this work.

"We would like to express our sincere thanks for our customers' patience and understanding regarding the reopening of the swimming pools at Musselburgh and North Berwick."

Participants in swimming lessons have been contacted regarding the resumption of lessons from Friday. If you have any queries about swimming lessons, email swimming@enjoyleisure.com

Bookings for public swim sessions, lane swim sessions, children's fun activities and AquaFit classes will open on Thursday at 9am. Call 01620 820730 for more details.