PyC will be supporting Afan Valley Community Leisure with 5 years funding totalling £300,000
Afan Valley Community Leisure (AVCL) was formed in 2015 when NPT Council announced that the Cymmer Pool was to close, a new social enterprise was established, Afan Valley Community Leisure, with the purpose of keeping the Pool open and the ownership of the swimming pools was transferred to Llandarcy Park Ltd (LPL) which had an established track record in delivering leisure services.
AVCL itself is a registered charity and through this incredible partnership approach they employ 3 full time, 3 part time and 7 casual staff.
“The importance of this asset cannot be understated. It is the only pool in the Afan valley, pools outside the valley are inaccessible to many because of the poor transport links. It is a creative partnership that was formed to save this asset and they have done incredible work to fundraise and ensure facility has remained open and grown but a facility of this kind with running costs and limitations will never be sustainable fully. They have secured some match funding and are confident in their cashflow predictions.
As representatives of the communities of the Afan Valley, AVCL are committed to fight to keep the pool open and sustain a valuable community asset. Funding from us over this kind of period will significantly ease the financial pressures and assist with the sustainability of the pool. They know that running a Swimming Pool will never be profitable and that they will continually have to look for core funding. But they are confident that the board of AVCL will continue to fundraise towards the running costs of the pool and having 5 years to continue that work and fundraise could allow them to leave this funding period with reserves that transforms their reliance on grant funding in the future” Kate Breeze, Executive Director, Pen y Cymoedd
Afan Valley Community Leisure are absolutely delighted to have been awarded funding from Pen Y Cymoedd. This funding is vital for our group to be able to continue to engage with Llandarcy Park Ltd, our chosen partner who successfully and safely operate the pool on our behalf.
The pool is a vital community hub and since being released from Neath Port Talbot Councils Jurisdiction in 2015 has continued to go from strength to strength. The pool provides so many employment, health, and educational benefits for our community. The pool has strong links with local schools, clubs, and many organisations.
It is home to the ever growing and successful Afan Valley Swimming Club. The success of the pool is not only due to grants raised by Afan Valley Community Leisure and the organisations and individuals that utilise the facility but is also testimony to the fantastic staff who work at the pool – Darren, Tom Janet and Wyn to name but a few. They are so passionate about their roles and the community in which they live, and this, no doubt, helps foster the successful environment.
For the pool to continue to operate and remain within our community, funding will always be needed along with community support to sustain it. Support from outside organisations is vital.
Afan Valley Community Leisure would like to publicly acknowledge the support from Kate Breeze and her team at Pen y Cymoedd for understanding the setup, strength and struggles that communities such as the Afan Valley face when dealing with threatened closure of vital community assets.