Christmas and New Year Opening Hours 2025

For the latest news and information follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook 

Christmas and New Year Opening Hours 2025

The Council, including the customer contact centre will be CLOSED from Wednesday 24 December until 9am Friday 2nd January 2026 – this applies to ALL major services aside from out-of-hours emergencies and limited vital services.

If the service area you are looking for is not highlighted below, please see individual pages or websites for details of their opening hours over the festive period. 

You can still access a wide range of online services during this period, however residents are reminded that the request may not be processed until 'offices' re-open at 9am on Friday 2nd January 2026.

Waste and Recycling

Your Recycling and Waste collections MAY CHANGE this festive period, please leave your items at your normal collection point on your normal/revised collection day. This applies to ALL recycling collections, including nappies, food and CLEAR bag recycling.

FULL details can be found on these pages

W/C Monday 22nd December Collections 

• Collections will take place as normal on Monday 22nd December, Tuesday 23rd December and Wednesday 24th December.

Collections due on Thursday 25th December will be collected on Saturday 27th December and will skip 2 days the rest of the week -Thursday to Saturday, Friday to Sunday. 

All black bag and recycling (including nappies and food waste recycling) should be placed at its collection point by 7am on your revised collection days.

W/C Monday 29th December 2025 Collections 

• Collections will take place as usual on Monday 29^th December, Tuesday 30th December and Wednesday 31st December.

Collections will then skip 1 day from New Years Day (Thursday) – so Thursdays collection will be collected on Friday etc. This applies to ALL your scheduled collections for recycling, food, nappies and black bag waste from Thursday 1^st January (New Year week) – Please note there will be NO COLLECTION on New Year’s Day.

All refuse and recycling (including nappies and food waste recycling) should be placed at their usual collection point by 7am on your revised collection day.

If your refuse/recycling has not been collected as planned, please leave it at the kerbside as we may be working additional hours to meet extra demand. Our crews can work well into the evening during busy periods.

The Community Recycling Centres are open from 8.30am until 4.30pm every day except for a 3.30pm closure on 24th and 31st December and complete closure on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and re-open on Friday 2nd January 2026.

The Council is also running its Christmas Tree Recycling Service from 29th December to 30th January 2026 and residents can book their time slot for within that period online now.

This information, in greater detail, is available on the Christmas recycling pages on this website

Please visit the recycling pages for general recycling information, including find my collection day and the searchable A-Z recycling guide.

Social Care

If you need to contact a member of the Social Care team over the festive period please use the following numbers:

• Out-of-hours Social Care emergencies, including weekends and bank holidays, including the festive period call: 01443 743665.

For people who need to contact their direct service provider over the bank holiday weekend please contact them direct using the contact information they have provided.

Community Meals (Meals on Wheels)

The Community Meals team will support its service users over the festive period and menu options have been provided to pre-order where needed. 

More information is available on these pages. 

Homelessness

Information and advice can be found on the homelessness page of this website 

Please note the Housing Solutions Service will be closed from 4pm on the 23^rd December 2025 and the office will re-open at 9am on Friday 2^nd January 2026.

An emergency out of hours service will be available on 01443 425011, however only emergencies, where it is reported that someone has no accommodation available to them, will be dealt with via this out of hours service.

All other housing and homelessness queries will receive attention when the office re-opens on the 2^nd January 2026. 

Registrars

General office WILL be CLOSED during the festive period, from Monday 22nd December to 2nd January 2026 for certificate applications/issue.  

The last day for issuing certificates will be Friday 19th December.

If the office is closed and you have an urgent query, please contact out of hours on 01443 425011.

The Register Office, Municipal Buildings, Pontypridd will operate as follows over the Christmas period: 

Cemeteries and Bereavement Service

The main office (Glyntaff) will operate as follows over the Christmas period: 

Full burials will be available on 23rd December until 1.30pm - All relevant paperwork must be received no later than Friday 12th December 3pm.

There will be no availability for full burials or for cremated remains at full depth at our cemeteries between Friday 26th December and Monday 5th January 2026.

Interments scheduled for 5th January should submit completed documents no later than 3pm on 22nd December 2025.

Our services will resume in full on 5th January 2026.  

There are currently no changes in place for Cemetery grounds over the festive period.

Cemetery grounds will be open every day from 9am until 4pm even on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New year’s day. 

• View Cemetery opening hours.

There are sometimes exceptional circumstances when we have to close the cemeteries to vehicles at short notice.  

If it is necessary to close a cemetery to vehicles, a notice is placed on the Cemetery gates advising the public. As soon as it is safe to do so the Cemetery gates are opened to vehicles.  

The cemeteries can be accessed by pedestrians when closed to vehicles but we would urge people to exercise caution when visiting our cemeteries in adverse weather and to ensure they wear appropriate clothing and footwear to avoid falls and injury.  

Public Conveniences

All public toilets across Rhondda Cynon Taf will operate under the following hours over the festive period:

Full details and locations on these facilities can be found here – Public Toilets

Leisure Centres

Visit the Leisure website or follow the @RCTLeisureService on facebook for details of your local centre's opening hours. Christmas Opening Hours

Rhondda Heritage Park Museum

• Black Gold Experience Underground Guided Tours are currently closed and will recommence on 12th January 2026.
• Caffe Bracchi - Christmas Eve - Open Until 3pm.
• Caffe Bracchi will be closed over the Christmas and New Year period and re-open on 5^th January 2026.

National Lido of Wales - Lido Ponty

Visit the Lido Ponty website or follow @LidoPonty on Twitter and facebook for details of activities and opening hours.

Libraries

Libraries will be closed from Wednesday 24th December and re-open on Friday 2nd January 2026

View details of Library services

Gartholwg Lifelong Centre

Gartholwg Lifelong Learning Centre will be closed from close of play Friday 19th December until Friday 2nd January 2026 with activities commencing the following week.

One4all Advice Service

One4all offices will be closed from Wednesday 24th December and will re-open on Friday 2nd January 2026.

• Book an appointment for after the Christmas period here

Dare Valley Country Park

The Dare Valley Country Park will operate under the following hours over the festive period:

The park will be open daily but the Visitor Centre is closed from 24th December – 2^nd January.

• Caffi Cwtsh – please see Caffi Cwtsh on facebook for updates. 

Theatres

Visit the RCT Theatres website and @ColiseumTheatreAberdare @ParkandDare on Facebook for details.

School Closures and School Transport

All schools are CLOSED from Friday 19th December (subject to planned inset days) due to Christmas Holidays.

• Schools will re-open on Monday 5th January (subject to any planned inset days after the Christmas break).

Please use the links below for the latest information about school closures, term times and school transport.

• View further information on school term dates, inset days and emergency closures.
• View further information on school transport routes and emergency changes to the service.

Road Closures

For the latest information on Road Closures visit these pages -

• Road Closures

Car Parks

The Council’s Pay and Display Car Parks in Aberdare and Pontypridd are FREE as part of the Council's festive parking initiative in Aberdare and Pontypridd, from 10am each day in December.  

Please note that Library, Green Street, Duke Street and High Street car parks in Aberdare, and Gas Road car park in Pontypridd, are all short-stay – for a maximum period of four hours. Town centre visitors are also reminded that if you park before 10am each day you must display a ticket up until 10am only. 

Once again, parking charges in Council car parks within the two towns will not apply after 10am each day for the whole month of December – from December 1, to December 31 inclusive. The offer is intended to help encourage residents to do as much of their Christmas shopping locally as possible, which would provide a boost to our fantastic Town Centre traders this time of year. 

Please note those Car Parks which are locked outside of regular charging hours, e.g. Catherine Street Multi Storey Car Park in Pontypridd, are also closed on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

Public Transport

The Council is pleased to announce that a £1.50 maximum single fare for all bus journeys that start and end in Rhondda Cynon Taf will be applied for the whole of December 2025 – providing cheaper travel this festive period.

Find out more

You are also advised to contact the relevant companies directly for further information with regards to the disruption of services during the festive period and during inclement weather.

• Traveline Cymru
• Transport for Wales
• Stagecoach

Contacting the Council in an Emergency:

All residents are reminded they can contact the Council with an emergency issue on 01443 425011 during the Bank Holiday period and out of hours/inclement weather, which is open 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week.