Swindon Link Centre closed indefinitely after flooding

The centre had to close last week after flood water cut off its power supply

A leisure centre has been closed indefinitely, following extensive damage from flash flooding.

It was announced that The Link Centre in Swindon would close for two weeks after it was severely flooded last week.

Although water was pumped out of the building, the electricity supply is still cut off.

A spokesperson from the centre said the damage is "significantly worse than originally anticipated."

On September 17, parts of Wiltshire and Somerset saw torrential rainfall and a number of weather warnings, including flood alerts.

Many businesses in Swindon were forced to close as a result, including The Link Centre.

Water also damaged the Link Centre's exterior

The building, owned by Swindon Borough Council and operated by Greenwich Leisure under the brand "Better", is known for its national-sized ice rink, which houses the National Ice Hockey League team, the Swindon Wildcats.

Specialist contractors and loss adjustors were brought in to assess the damage to the leisure centre.

It found that many key operational areas had sustained damage from the flood water, including electricity supplies, pumps, heating, ventilation and draining systems.

In a statement, a spokesperson from Better said: "We are working as hard as possible with our partners and contractors to deliver a staged reopening of the Centre, as areas are cleared, cleaned and made safe.

"Subject to our ability to secure a power supply for the building we hope to be able to reopen the gym, trampoline park, soft play area and fitness programmes in the first phase.

"However, due to the complexities and severity of the damage incurred, it will take longer before we are able to safely reopen the swimming pool and ice rink.

"We will provide dates and timelines as soon as we have them."