Leisure centre hours slashed in council cost-cutting plan

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Opening hours at New Tredegar Leisure Centre will be cut from April 1 as Caerphilly County Borough Council seeks to save money.

The local authority has confirmed shorter opening hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays year-round, and the centre will be closed completely on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from April to September.

The council said the new hours reflect a “sustainable model” for running the centre, which was saved from being closed down last year, following public backlash.

Opposition leaders have called the reductions “a real blow” to the community and a “knee-jerk reaction”, however.

New Tredegar was among three leisure centres proposed for the axe under cost-cutting plans in 2025, alongside sites in Bedwas and Cefn Fforest.

But decision-makers eventually watered down those proposals amid “robust” opposition from campaigners, and backbench councillors refused to support recommendations for the closures of Cefn Fforest and New Tredegar.

Instead, cabinet members agreed to retain those two sites but to reduce their opening hours – a move one Cefn Fforest ward councillor described as a “Pyrrhic victory” for the community.

While new hours were introduced swiftly for Cefn Fforest, users of New Tredegar Leisure Centre had to wait until November for concrete proposals.

The council has now finalised its plans for the New Tredegar centre, which will be open from 1pm to 8pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the year.

It will also open from 4pm to 8pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from September 1 to March 31, “when demand is highest”.

A council spokesperson said: “By working with users and reviewing when the leisure centre is most used, we’ve developed a more sustainable model that allows us to keep the leisure centre open and continue supporting the local community.”

Cllr Charlotte Bishop, who leads the council’s Plaid Cymru group in opposition, has urged a rethink of the proposals.

She called leisure centres “part of everyday life” in communities like New Tredegar, and noting their health and social benefits, said “cutting access like this risks leaving people behind, especially those who rely on affordable, local spaces to stay active and connected”.

Cllr Nigel Dix, who leads the council’s independents, said the local authority “seems to be carrying on regardless” of opposition to leisure centre changes.

He said moves to “centralise everything” at fewer sites “don’t really work in Valleys communities – we haven’t got the infrastructure or transport systems in place to do it”.

Council officers have said repeatedly that Caerphilly has more leisure centres than any other Welsh local authority, and claim they can provide a more modern and financially healthy service at fewer sites.