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Colcot sports centre plans 'on hold'

Friday, 27 December 2024 16:48

By Ted Peskett - Local Democracy Reporter X @TedPeskettNews

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Plans for a revamp at a Barry leisure facility labelled “embarrassing” have been put on hold due to a lack of funding.

At a meeting in April, Vale Council officials said changing facilities at Colcot Sports Centre had fallen into disrepair and were in need of being replaced.

More recently, the council said a public consultation found that the preferred way forward was to refurbish the existing facilities.

However, the cost of the scheme has risen and although there is a grant application still active for £500,000, this is still short of the funds needed.

Buttrills Playing Fields is across Colcot Road from the changing facilities at Colcot Sports Centre.

One councillor said at a scrutiny committee meeting earlier this year that she spent years as a parent having to navigate between Buttrills and Colcot for twice weekly football sessions.

“It is time I will never get back,” said Cllr Belinda Loveluck-Edwards.

“I have witnessed the chaos of parking, the children refusing to use the facilities…and having to deal with wet bedraggled boys with nowhere warm, safe or accessible in which to change, but my son had that chance unlike girls of his age who were rarely seen on the pitch.”

Vale Council’s cabinet member for leisure, sport and wellbeing, Cllr Gwyn John, said it was a “great disappointment” that the current changing facilities continued to cause concern.

He added: “It really will affect the playing of girls and women’s football in the town of Barry."

“Initial evaluation of the site and buildings has been undertaken with the objective remaining to provide quality sport facilities.”

The council’s operational manager for neighbourhood services and healthy living, David Knevett, said of the current changing facilities at the council scrutiny committee meeting in April 2024: “The current building at the sports centre is beyond its life expectancy and frankly from a women and girls’ perspective…are embarrassing.”

The current changing rooms opened in 1963. Around £500,000 of funding, if granted, would come from the Cymru Football Foundation.

Vale Council submitted another grant application to Sport Wales for a pump track, but this was rejected for financial reasons.

Cllr John said: “Quite honestly, unless we get new changing rooms in the near future or not too distant future…the football teams in Barry will have no changing rooms and that is what we have got to really take into hand.”

Council leader Lis Burnett told a cabinet meeting last week: “It is disappointing."

“It is a shame that these days we, in order to develop schemes…have to stitch together all sorts of sources of funding and if some of those sources fall by the wayside it can make the whole scheme unsustainable."

She added: “We will continue…to look at how it can be delivered.”

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