End of the line for leisure centre

SENIOR councillors have voted to permanently close a leisure centre, bringing to an end a seven-year battle that spilled into the courts.

Caerphilly Council was forced to redraw its plans to shut Pontllanfraith Leisure Centre in 2019 after high court judges quashed part of the original proposal from 2017.

The leisure centre was effectively mothballed at the start of the pandemic, later serving as a mass vaccination centre for the local health board.

But Caerphilly council argued the site was nearly 50 years old and had a “significant” maintenance backlog of nearly £500,000, and there were better leisure facilities nearby following recent investment.

The proposed closure has been disputed by community campaigners, who fought for years against the plans. A councillor who supported those residents said the final decision to close the centre was “bitterly disappointing”.

At a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, council leader Sean Morgan said the council had made “obviously a very difficult decision” because “people feel very connected to Pontllanfraith Leisure Centre” and had enjoyed “good times there”.

The centre was “not something anybody wants to see close” but senior councillors “can’t be nostalgic, we’ve got to be pragmatic”. He added that the council had invested in other sports facilities, including at Islwyn High School and a pitch at Blackwood Comprehensive School.

Following the decision, the leisure centre will be closed but the 3G sports pitch will remain in use until a replacement all-weather facility opens as part of the nearby Centre for Vulnerable Learners, which will soon be built on the site of the old Pontllanfraith Comprehensive School.