Swansea’s popular leisure centres, including the LC, are in good hands during the lockdown.
The facilities, managed by Freedom Leisure for Swansea Council, are being kept in prime condition thanks to ongoing work by Freedom staff.
They include facilities at Bishopston, Cefn Hengoed, Elba, Morriston, Penlan and Penyrheol. All, like the LC, are temporarily closed in line with government restrictions.
Nic Beggs, area manager for Freedom Leisure, said: “We’re keeping the LC and other Swansea leisure centres in excellent condition in readiness for the future when it’s safe to reopen to the public.
“We’ve made great strides with the facilities that we’ve been managing on behalf of the council and public for almost two years. The £5.1m improvement package funded by the council and invested by Freedom Leisure has brought exceptional new facilities to the centres – and the feedback we’ve had from members and other users has been tremendous, seeing participation at the sites increase by over 10% last year.
“Our staff on site now continue to work hard to maintain the centres, completing safety checks and ensuring centres are secure. We have dramatically reduced our gas and electric use to reduce our carbon footprint and solar panels we installed are working exceptionally well with the recent weather conditions.
“The LC pool remains full to avoid water wastage and we are continuously checking water quality. All of the filters and pumps running waterpark features such as our Masterblaster are being tested periodically to ensure we are as ready as possible to reopen in line with industry and Welsh Government guidance.
“Although the majority our staff have been furloughed, our non-furlough team continue to work from home and on site regularly to ensure our leisure centres are clean, safe and have measures in place to ensure our customers feel confident to use our sites again in the future.
“There are no visitors at present, which is strange for a building like the LC which is normally open more than 110 hours a week and attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year as Wales’ most visited paid attraction.
“Although we’ve pressed the pause button, the public can be certain that the LC and other leisure centres will be ready to once again to offer them the best in leisure and fitness when the time is right.”
Robert Francis-Davies, the council’s cabinet member for investment, regeneration and tourism, said: “I applaud the efforts being made to keep leisure centres around the city in prime working order. They may be temporarily closed but they’ll still be here for Swansea when the country gets through this crisis.
“The council’s partnership with Freedom Leisure is strong and we’re pleased to have funded significant improvements at centres around the city. They help put the facilities in a good position for the years to come.”
