SWIMMING sessions will be free of charge to children in Rhayader over the Easter holidays, thanks to the town council who are encouraging locals to use the town’s “fantastic facility”.
Fun splash sessions will be free of charge to youngsters in the town on the two weekends over the half-term holidays: Saturday and Sunday, March 30-31, and Saturday and Sunday, April 6-7.
It comes at a time when Powys’ leisure centres – now operated on behalf of the local authority by Freedom Leisure – are under threat.
This includes Rhayader, whose pool had initially been earmarked for temporary closure by Powys County Council (PCC) in December 2022.
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The council says it will be revealing a decision regarding the future of the county's leisure centres in 2024.
“Rhayader Town Council have very kindly funded the weekend fun splash sessions for the Easter half term,” Rhayader Leisure Centre announced on its Facebook page on Monday.
“So Saturday 30th March and Saturday 6th April from 12.30pm to 1.30pm and Sunday 31st March and Sunday 7th April from 11am to 12pm, the fun splash sessions are free of charge. (*maximum of 35 people per session. Come and join us for fun in the pool.”
Rhayader Town Council added: “Let’s use this fantastic facility. We hope you all enjoy.”
Freedom Leisure run 13 leisure/sports centres and swimming pools across Powys and were awarded a 15-year council contract in 2015 to run the facilities.
PCC announced in late December that a decision over the future of the county’s leisure centres would be made this year – a year after proposing and then reversing a move to temporarily close a number of leisure centres in Powys.
Having carried out an in-depth review of leisure facilities throughout Powys in July 2023, PCC has yet to reach a decision but says a conclusion is near.
“The review of leisure provision in Powys is reaching a conclusion with a scrutiny group working through information and data collected, collated and analysed as part of the process,” a spokesperson for PCC said at the end of December 2023.
“It is expected that further detail will be shared in the new year as part of the council’s sustainable Powys agenda and plans.”
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