Saturday 21st September saw the official opening of Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Centre pools following their refurbishment, thanks to a £5 million investment by Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns Programme, Salix Finance and Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council.
Award winning social enterprise, Halo Leisure, took over the management of the leisure centre on behalf of the Council in May 2024, bringing with it over twenty years of experience in the leisure industry. Working in partnership with the Council, Halo have managed a phased reopening of the pools since the end of May this year.
Councillor Brent Carter, on his first official engagement since becoming the newly elected Leader of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, said: “Today is an important day for us, marking the next chapter of the Council’s partnership with Halo Leisure.
“Since 25th May the centre has had over 14,000 visits to the pools and in the few weeks since the re-introduction of swimming lessons, we’ve gone from having zero to over 400 children in our swimming lessons. This goes a long way to recognising the Council and Halo’s joint ambition of having 1,000 children in the swimming programme in Merthyr Tydfil.”
Scott Rolfe, Chief Executive of Halo Leisure, said: “As a registered charity we are passionate about creating healthier communities. As well as pools, we are excited to support local people to work out and wind down in our gyms, group exercise classes, pitches, courts, sports halls.
“We are proud to be working with Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council and look forward to a long and healthy partnership that results in even more local people, being more active, more often”
