Alongside group activities, saunas and steam rooms within spas and indoor leisure facilities and children’s play areas can also reopen.

Sport England’s recent Active Lives Survey showed that more than seven million people in England were using fitness classes regularly pre-pandemic. Group exercise classes are particularly popular among women, with 76 per cent of participants being female.

ukactive welcomed the reopening of activities, but warned that many operators were facing intolerable financial pressures.

“Through these popular community activities, our members have become the engine room of physical activity in our nations, making their reopening a vital moment for our physical and mental recovery. However, our sector still needs support and we will continue to fight hard for the financial and regulatory help which is urgently required so that as many facilities as possible are able to survive and recover fully,” said Huw Edwards, CEO of ukactive

“Our members have shown tremendous courage and resilience in the harshest of environments, having to make tough operational decisions while facing no income during this period of lockdown. It’s time to support these vital facilities to play their fullest role in our nation’s health and wellbeing.”