The Link Centre has now fully recovered from severe flood damage with the reopening of its swimming pool. 

The West Swindon leisure facility, operated by Better, confirmed on January 2 that all of its facilities were back open and running as normal now. 

In a statement on its website posted on the same day that the much-missed pool reopened, a spokesperson said: "Firstly, we'd like to send all our customers our best wishes for this New Year 2024, and thank you for your support and patience while we worked on re-opening the centre over these past few months.

"As of today, the Link Centre has reopened all its facilities."

This follows a tumultuous number of months after flood water caused by heavy rain entered the site's electrical plant room on September 17, leading to extensive damage and leaving the building without electricity. 

The leisure operators warned that this would leave them closed for a lengthy amount of time. 

The gym and fitness studios reopened in October despite the lack of power, with the centre providing emergency lighting, and the following month the soft play and trampoline park reopened. 

And in December, the ice rink reopened weeks ahead of the proposed schedule thanks to a joint effort between Swindon Borough Council and Better.

Now that the pool is reopened, swimming lessons recommenced from Thursday, January 4. 

The spokesperson added that there is still a little bit more work to do in the pool.

They said: "Work will continue over the next few months in the pool area and final works on the pool plant should be completed in February. During this time it may be necessary to close the area at points during the day."

The building's lift is still not operational but anyone who needs to access the studio or swimming pool and cannot use the stairs can speak to staff at reception who will be able to open ramp access. 

The Better spokesperson added: "Thank you for your support."

While everything managed by Better is back up and running, the last known update on the status of the Swindon Borough Council-managed West Swindon Library is that it was still recovering from the damage it received. 

Council leader Jim Robbins said in December that test holes had been drilled into the floor to see how much it had dried.