Catrine Games Hall is getting preparations underway ahead of a planned reopening on April 26.

The games hall, under the guidance of the Catrine Community Trust, will reopen as long as East Ayrshire is placed in Level 3, or lower, of the Scottish Government’s route map.

Tommy Milgrew is the hall manager and he says he has been bombarded with messages from people asking when they will able to return to the centre.

He told the Chronicle: “I’ve had messages constantly asking if I’ve got updates.

“The fact that a date has been released is a huge relief. You can here the excitement in people’s voices when they’re phoning to book a slot”.

If you attend one of the various clubs that operate from the centre, the club coach/instructor will be in touch about their individual plans to resume. The centre will be able to accept bookings from casual users for certain activities however they will be operating limited opening hours and will be prioritising previous bookings from regular users.

Despite the closures, volunteers have been regularly checking the hall to ensure that everything will be ready for when they can reopen.

There will be slight disruption to some of their regular lets as the trust has committed to continuing to assist the NHS with their vaccination programme. Further vaccination sessions will take place on Wednesday, May 5 and Tuesday, May 18.

The Trust is also in the continuous process of looking for volunteers to assist in the day-to-day running of the centre, especially as restrictions ease and activities become more regular.

Tommy added: “An organisation like ourselves are totally reliant on volunteers.

“What we would say to any volunteer is to come along and give it a try. If you don’t like it then there’s no harm done”.

More information can be found on the Catrine Games Hall Facebook page.