Residents feel “let down” after council decides to close Pontllanfraith Leisure Centre

Pontllanfraith Leisure Centre is to close after controversial plans were approved by Caerphilly County Borough Council’s cabinet.

The council will now demolish the centre with the land most likely being put up for sale. The authority had previously said the building was in need of “significant” improvement and that leisure facilities were now available at the new Islwyn High School in Oakdale.

Blackwood resident Huw Darling is a cricket coach and regular user of the leisure centre and said the council had let down residents.

He said: “Ninety percent of people in the public consultation said they didn’t want the leisure centre closed, but they did it anyway. The closure seemed like a done deal and the whole consultation process was a tick box exercise.

“We attended a meeting back in November where I had five minutes to put the case across. A number of the councillors tore the plan apart and the council didn’t have a leg to stand on, but they gone and closed it.

“It’s cheaper to shut it down rather than keep it open.”

As part of the closure plans, the council has agreed to develop a new 3G pitch at Blackwood Comprehensive School and will look at funding.

The 3G pitch at Pontllanfraith will remain in use until the end of March next year.

Cllr Nigel George, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhood Services, said: “The decision was not taken lightly and we recognise that the closure will be a disappointment to many people in the area.

“However, we are faced with significant financial pressures and we have looked at alternative facilities nearby, including those available at Islwyn High School and other local facilities. It’s important to emphasise that the services provided won’t be lost, but will be delivered differently, and we are confident that these facilities can meet the needs of the community in the future.”

Cllr Colin Mann, leader of the Plaid Cymru group on Caerphilly Council, said: “We’re very disappointed at this shortsighted decision by the cabinet which is simply a financial decision.

“Between 2012/13 and 2016/17 attendances rose by nearly 27% while 90% of all those that responded to the council’s own consultation stressed that alternative arrangements for the users at Pontllanfraith were not in place.

“The consultation also made it clear that people would face further to travel, some might not be able to afford to and the local 3G pitches were already oversubscribed and one was badly needed at Blackwood with nothing in the immediate pipeline.

“What is clear that the Labour Cabinet asked for people’s views but in the end just made the decision they’d decided to make anyway. It was a sham.”

Cllr Mann referred to the detailed submission by Blackwood Town Council which pointed to another alternative to closure and demolition of the centre. That was to explore the transfer of centre ownership to the community.

He added: “It seems likely that many users may just give up and popular weekly classes won’t be able to function. Demolition costs will be significant at more than £300,000 while the annual saving to the council is just £91,000 – fairly insignificant when seen against a revenue budget of more than £300m.”