Ceredigion leisure centres staying shut raises children's safety fears

Children are being denied survival skills because leisure centres are to remain closed, parents have said.

Centres run by Ceredigion council will stay shut for at least two more months while facilities in every other part of Wales have already re-opened.

Cara Perry, whose daughter is a member of Aberystwyth Swimming Club, said "children are missing out".

But the council said keeping the centres closed aimed to prevent rises in Covid cases.

Welsh government guidance allowed gyms, fitness facilities, leisure centres, spas and swimming pools to reopen from 3 May.

Ceredigion MP Ben Lake, of Plaid Cymru, has also expressed disappointment in the Plaid-led council's decision.

Plascrug Leisure Centre in Aberystwyth has been transferred back to the local authority after it was decommissioned by the health board as a field hospital.

Ceredigion council has said there is significant work to restore the building before it can be used again as a leisure facility, and has not given a reopening date.

Cardigan Leisure Centre, in the south of the county, will remain closed while it is being used as a mass vaccination centre.

In Aberaeron and Lampeter, facilities are able to open but the authority has decided they should remain closed until at least 5 July.

It comes after parents in Aberystwyth were forced to travel miles for their children to play after the town council kept play areas shut to the public, despite Welsh government rules allowing their reopening.

Mrs Perry's 13-year-old daughter Chloe has been going to swim club since she was eight.

Chloe wrote to Mr Lake in October, expressing dismay that leisure facilities remained closed in Aberystwyth.

Mrs Perry said there was concern locally that in a seaside town, children were being put at risk by not being able to learn or practice swimming.

She said other parents were "gutted, frustrated and angry", and "children are missing out on survival skills".

"It's so frustrating," she said. "The council don't realise the impact it has on people.

"Socially, she misses out on five sessions a week meeting up with friends.

"I think it affects their behaviour too. Swim club is physically exhausting - if she was angry or stressed, she would come out feeling refreshed and happy, but she can't do that now."

Chloe said she missed seeing her friends and had been affected by the lack of routine.

"Usually I'm always doing something, but now when I get home I'm a bit bored doing nothing," she explained.

Mrs Perry added: "The council don't care about the younger generation at all. There's just nothing that shows me they care."

Owain Schiavone, a runner and athletics coach from Aberystwyth, would normally use leisure facilities "two, three or four times a week".

"My children used the pool for their swimming lessons and I feel so sorry for them, especially living in a coastal town like Aberystwyth," he said.

"There are dangers associated with living somewhere like this - swimming in the sea, as we know, can be dangerous. This is something huge and important that our kids are missing out on.

"I accept that the virus spreads much more easily indoors, but there comes a point where you have to look at the long-term implications for people's health and wellbeing."

Joseph Gorman, 15, used to train for about 13 hours per week with Aberystwyth Swimming Club.

Joseph said the pool in the town is "the only suitable facility for training" in the whole of Ceredigion.

"At a national level, the people I used to compete against are training and it's unfair that I'm being held back a level because of my inability to train," he said.

Outside classes, sports fields and all weather pitches will reopen at the end of May.

In a statement, Ceredigion council said it recognised "the dates are potentially later than anticipated", but had been set to "ensure that we continue to reduce the risk of any increase in cases and play our part in supporting the local authority's priorities in the county's recovery from the coronavirus."

The council added the delay would also allow for the return of leisure staff who had been seconded to other services during the pandemic.