More than 5,000 use sports barn in first month

Girls and boys football teams as well as many other grassroots sports clubs are flocking to the new indoor sports barn at Cefn Hengoed Community School and Leisure Centre with many evening and weekend sessions fully booked.

Membership at the new indoor gym has almost doubled and the refurbished sports hall is proving really popular with netball leagues across the region.

Pupils are also making the most of the state-of-the-art facilities during school hours and have been taking advantage of junior membership which offers great value and benefits from the age of 11.

More than £7.5m has been invested at the site which is operated by Freedom Leisure, one of the UK's leading not for profit and charitable leisure trusts that manages the leisure facilities in Swansea on behalf of Swansea Council.

Senior members of the council's cabinet recently visited to see for themselves how the new facilities are operating.

Jim Kelly, General Manager for Cefn Hengoed, said: "Demand for the sports barn has exceeded expectation with over 5,000 users within the first month of opening ranging from Cefn Hengoed comprehensive school, primary schools, community rugby and football clubs, the Swans Trust, Swansea junior league and the West Wales girls league.

"The feedback from customers about the new gym equipment, studio and COSTA coffee offering has been fantastic and that we are now open in the daytime and all weekend too has seen our membership base double.  

"We have welcomed a broader age range experiencing the new facilities than prior to the development and we hope to provide more opportunities for the community through the children's gymnastics courses, birthday party options and adult provision working with community groups and partners such as the exercise referral scheme NERS.'

Senior members of Swansea Council's Cabinet and ward members visited the school and leisure centre recently to see how it is working.

Council Leader Rob Stewart said: "The whole development has a huge wow factor and I'm thrilled that it is already being used by thousands of people of all ages in just its first month or so of opening.

"This was one of our council's priorities and I'm delighted that we've able to deliver it."

Swansea Council's Cabinet Member for Investment, Regeneration, Events and Tourism, Robert Francis-Davies, said: "These new facilities and the improvements to the school stack-up against anything else in Wales.

"To have something of this stature here in the Eastside is fantastic. It encourages more young people especially to take part in sport when you have facilities that are as good as these."

Funding for the development, which also includes new community spaces for the school, has come from Swansea Council, Welsh Government, the Football Foundation, Freedom Leisure and Sports Wales, and is supported by partners including the Swansea City AFC Foundation, the Football Association of Wales, the WRU and Cefn Hengoed Community School.

The work was undertaken by local contractor Morganstone.