A leisure centre that was closed so that extensive repair works could be carried out looks set to reopen soon.

Finchley Lido Leisure Centre, in Great North Leisure Park, North Finchley, is expected to open on Monday, September 28 for group exercise and health and fitness sessions.

It is hoped the pool will reopen before October 26.

Finchley Lido’s pool was closed in March last year after structural defects were found in the roof. It was later revealed materials in the roof appeared not to have been properly protected during construction.

The centre has remained closed as other leisure centres across the borough reopened following the coronavirus lockdown.

At a meeting of the adults and safeguarding committee on Thursday (September 17), assistant director of greenspaces and leisure Cassie Bridger said the centre would reopen ahead of schedule.

Ms Bridger said: “Finchley Lido has been the subject of quite an extensive remedial programme over the last 18 months, which has included quite intrusive investigations and specialist structural repairs to the facility.

“That programme, I am please to report, has completed ahead of schedule. We were due to complete that remedial activity in November this year. We were able to accelerate that programme, working with the contractor appointed to do the work.

“We are working to restart and reopen that facility from October. We have an indicative time frame that we are working to at the moment, where we would be looking to reopen the dry side for group exercise and health and fitness from the 28th of this month – so within the next ten days.”

Ms Bridger said signage had been installed and Covid-secure risk assessments put in place, with daily deep cleans being carried out across the facility.

She explained more work needed to be done before the pool could open, such as refilling the pool tanks, testing the chlorination and ensuring air circulation systems are “operating to the optimum degree”.

Ms Bridger added: “We have been looking to reopen the facility in full by half term, so before October 26th. If we can bring that forward, that is the aim for us to do so.”