Critics hit out at potential closures of ‘community lifeline’ leisure centres

A whopping 99% of people using Bedwas Leisure Centre say its closure would have a negative impact on them.

The centre is one of three, along with Cefn Fforest and New Tredegar, which Caerphilly County Borough Council is proposing to shut down.

The council argues the potential closures are part of a wider strategy and will help save money, as well as help develop better services at a smaller number of strategic sites.

Cllr Chris Morgan, the cabinet member for leisure, said Caerphilly’s sports and active recreation strategy, agreed in 2019, had been “accelerated by the unprecedented financial challenges facing the council at present”.

“We need to change the way we deliver our leisure service in the future, and I’m keen to highlight the huge investment that has been made over recent years in modern, fit-for-purpose facilities like 3G pitches, an athletics hub, upgraded swimming facilities and other sporting facilities,” he added.

Yet the results of a recent public consultation period, during which 764 residents offered their thoughts on the proposals, suggest those arguments have failed to resonate with many leisure centre users.

Critics of the proposals “felt money could be saved elsewhere” and claimed closing leisure centres could have “an overall impact on health and wellbeing”, according to a consultation report.

They also raised concerns about a “loss of community”, the environmental impact of more people driving to alternative leisure centres, and the impact on people who are older or have disabilities.

The report shows that of the 228 current users of Bedwas Leisure Centre who responded to the consultation, 99% “felt the closure..would have a negative impact on them or their household”.

Some also suggested better public transport links from Bedwas to Caerphilly town, which would be users’ nearest alternative leisure centre – and others said a potential closure should be delayed until the opening of Caerphilly’s new leisure centre, which is currently under construction.

The council didn’t provide similar figures for users of Cefn Fforest, but said “nearly all respondents” felt its closure would have a negative impact on them.

“Particular concerns” focused on the alternative provision of sessions for children with additional learning needs.

Cefn Fforest and Pengam ward councillor Shane Williams said the centre welcomed 97,000 visitors last year, and claimed the negative impact of a closure on those people “simply cannot be mitigated”.

“It is simply misleading to direct all those users to other private facilities when there are no private swimming pools available,” he added. “It is equally wrong to suggest people can easily travel miles to other facilities.”

Fellow ward councillor Teresa Heron said closing Cefn Fforest Leisure Centre would mean “the removal of a vital community lifeline” and a “hub of daily life”.

“This is not simply a leisure facility used occasionally or out of convenience,” she added. “For many, it is a daily anchor: a place that supports physical health, emotional resilience, and social connection.

“Its absence would be felt deeply and immediately across generations and communities.”

Users of New Tredegar focused their opposition on the impacts of a closure on young people.

According to the report, they argued there “was very little else available in terms of provision for young people” locally, and closing the centre could “potentially have a negative impact on the local community and antisocial behaviour”.

The council’s proposals may also have environmental impacts – in all three locations, responses suggest car trips could increase if users have to travel further to alternative leisure centres.

However, this has also been presented as a potential positive by the council, in terms of easy access to other sites.

“If we proceed with our plans to reduce to four strategic leisure centres, then almost every community in the county borough will be within a five-mile travelling distance of one of the four strategic sites,” explained Cllr Morgan.

Those four sites would be Caerphilly, Heolddu, Newbridge and Risca.

If the closures are approved, Cefn Fforest and New Tredegar leisure centres will shut by August 31 this year, and Bedwas Leisure Centre will shut to “coincide” with the expected opening of Caerphilly’s new leisure centre by March 2027.

Councillors will meet next week (Monday May 12) to offer their views on the proposals, before cabinet members make a final decision two days later.