I was pleased to visit the recently re-opened Rhondda Fach Leisure Centre last week following the completion of our £1m investment to remodel and refurbish the facility, and I have to say that the equipment and facilities on offer are second to none.  I hope that residents and Centre users will see that our investment will be a positive long-term solution that guarantees that the Rhondda Fach can be home to a first-class facility that offers a wider fitness offer in keeping with the demands of the local community and Centre users.

The new gym is the largest of our nine leisure centres and boasts some of the only equipment of its kind in Wales.  The Rhondda Fach Leisure Centre has also received a further boost after the two indoor-3G pitch installations that formed part of the investment were granted IRB approved status, meaning that they are the only such facilities in the Valleys and one of only a few in the whole of Wales.  These will crucially enable local sports clubs to access state-of-the-art training facilities throughout the year, no matter the weather and I’m sure these will prove to be exceptionally popular.

In aid of achieving our aim of creating a healthy and active RCT, we have also taken the decision to remove joining and induction fees from our Leisure for Life membership to encourage as many people to start the New Year in the best possible way.  We are also offering all non-members their first session free at all of our leisure centres to give a taste of the facilities that we offer.  Our Leisure for Life membership comes with a number of benefits, such as access to over 300 classes and six swimming pools across the County, and has proven to be extremely popular over recent years.  I would urge anyone interested in taking the first step in improving their health and well-being to visit our leisure website to find out more.

We have continued to invest significantly in improving our leisure facilities at a time when many other Local Authorities are having to outsource provision or cut funding, and the recent investment in the Rhondda Fach builds on the improvements to Llantrisant Leisure Centre delivered in January 2018.  We have also progressed the programme of refurbishing changing rooms at three centres - Bronwydd Pool, Rhondda Sports Centre and Abercynon Sports Centre, which also benefited from further investment to replace the air handling and ventilation units and a relining of the pool tank earlier this year.  This programme is shortly to be extended to deliver better changing facilities at the Sobell Centre in Aberdare in the coming months.

Posted on 22/01/2019