© Hockeylocal & BIPHA South Wales
© Hockeylocal & BIPHA South Wales
Pontypool Saved (June 2004)
Celebrations are under way in Pontypool with the news that at the eleventh hour plans to demolish the main sports hall at Pontypool Leisure Centre have been shelved.
Millions of pounds will now be diverted into a major refurbishment of the thirty year old building following ther cancellation of the flagship £20 million Learning Centre nearby.
A spokeman for the club said ''This is the best possible news for the future of the sport in this area. We have built up valuable links with Torfaen Leisure Services and Pontypool Community Council over the past seven years which have led to the club becoming a valuable part of the local youth sporting culture. This is an important development for the sport in South Wales and our position as a major user of the Leisure Centre will give us the opportunity to move our club forward''.
Building work is scheduled to start in November 2004 and continue for up to two years during that time the Leisure Centre will close completely. During this period club will train at Fairwater Leisure Centre in nearby Cwmbran on Wednesday nights following successful negotiations with Torfaen Leisure Services.
Demolition work on Pontypool's Leisure Centre started in March 2005.
Work has begun on smashing up the café block and supporters' lounge as part of the £6 million redevelopment plan which will see the existing facilities replaced. The new centre is due to open in Autumn 2006, slightly later than originally planned, and the money available for the project has increased from £5.6 million.
Cllr Glyn Caron, Executive Member for Leisure, said: "It is important that we get the highest quality facilities for our money to ensure that Pontypool Leisure Centre will be providing the very best leisure provision for the next 20 years.
"This support for additional funding recognises how important Pontypool Leisure Centre is to the local community."
As he watched demolition begin, cllr Caron added: "The people of Pontypool will now be able to see work has begun."
Closure plans check skaters
A NATIONAL roller-hockey tournament held annually in Pontypool faces cancellation - if a new venue for the event cannot be found.
More than 200 players took part in last October's Ty Hafan skater hockey tournament at Pontypool leisure centre, which raised more than £1,000 for the children's hospice charity.
But plans to refurbish the leisure centre this year mean that the sports hall where the tournament is held will be closed - leaving the organisers looking for another venue.
Pontypool Skater Hockey Club, who train and play in the sports hall, cover the whole of Gwent, with 50 members in five unisex teams.
Leisure chiefs at Torfaen council recently submitted a bid for £1.2 million of funding from the Sports Council for Wales to help refurbish Pontypool leisure centre.
The council had estimated the project could cost up to £6.5 million, but the SCW said it would only give £1.2 million for a £4.2-million project - meaning the sports hall at the centre will not be able to remain open.
Club secretary Graham Collins said: "We hope to stage the tournament again in 2004, but if the centre closes in September, as planned, there is no suitable venue in Torfaen for us.
"We thought that they were going to refurbish the sports hall, but it was a body blow when we heard they couldn't get the funding.
"It becomes pretty apparent that we would have nowhere to turn. The club's very future is in doubt."
Torfaen councillor Lewis Jones, executive member for leisure and a strong supporter of the leisure centre's refurbishment, said: "The hockey tournament is an immensely popular event and it would be terrible to lose it. It brings hundreds of people from all over Wales to Pontypool.
"I would advise the club to lobby the Sports Council for Wales. We have pleaded with them, but they are adamant."
A spokesman for Torfaen council said: "We are aware of the difficulties and will be making every effort to make sure users are accommodated at other facilities available in the area."