Sports pitch closed because of public safety concerns
A POPULAR sports facility in a Carmarthenshire town has been closed due to public safety concerns amid claims it has been neglected by the local council.
The artificial sports pitch in Ammanford, located at the rear of the town’s leisure centre, was shut down by Carmarthenshire Council after they undertook an inspection on November 25.
This followed concerns being raised by members of the public about its condition, with areas of the pitch badly damaged and other parts covered in thick moss, increasing the risk of players including school children slipping when using it and suffering injuries.
The surface - which was first installed in the early 1990s - is used by a number of different sports clubs, especially during the winter months when other areas are out of bounds due to adverse weather.
One local councillor has said the whole surface needs to be replaced and that the issue actually highlights a “lack of maintenance for Amman Valley facilities”.
“Having visited the Astroturf and spoken with staff, I was shocked that such an important facility for the Amman Valley has been neglected in this way,” said Rob James, leader of the Labour group at Carmarthenshire Council.
“This Astroturf has served the community for the last 30 years. However, it is clear that the council is no longer maintaining the facility and, frankly, it is time that we had a full replacement of the Astroturf.”
Mr James added: “You can see from this closure, the lack of sports facilities in the Amman, not building new schools for Ammanford pupils and the state of Ammanford children’s park, that this area is constantly being treated as the poor relation of Carmarthenshire by this Plaid Cymru administration. We have written to the council to call for a full replacement of the Astroturf with a maintenance budget attached immediately.”
In response to the claims made by councillor James, the Plaid Cymru group at Carmarthenshire Council has said that plans are already in place to upgrade the facility, which is used by Ysgol Dyffryn Aman.
A spokesman for the group said: “The existing all-weather pitch is due to be cleaned and treated over the coming days with a view to re-opening for the remaining winter months. It seems that councillor Rob James is unaware of the next phase, which will be upgrading the all-weather pitch as part of the improvements planned for the outside facilities. Positive meetings are being held with the school, the FAW, and other funding agencies and governing bodies of sport in order to deliver this aspiration.
“This supports the extensive development work that has been undertaken by the council’s Actif Community Sports Development team that has seen the emergence of popular new activities such as walking football, as we continue to work closely with local clubs and community groups. And this should be seen in an even wider context. The Plaid-led county council has set aside capital funding to develop a site masterplan for Amman Valley Leisure Centre, building on the £20m already invested in the school itself.
“Very recently over £600k was spent on upgrading the inside of the leisure centre, including new wet-side changing facilities and air handling systems. It’s sad that councillor James should jump on a temporary situation, out of apparent ignorance of the wider picture, in a desperate attempt at political gain.”