The main swimming pool at Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Centre could close for six months for a full refurbishment to fix floor tiles.
Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Trust, also known as Wellbeing@Merthyr, runs the centre on behalf of the county borough council and has announced the main pool and leisure and learner pools will close from December 2 so it can investigate and make the necessary repairs.
The leisure trust says there have been problems with the tiles for a number of years and it has tried sending in divers to try to repair them and using mats to cover them.
It is not sure yet when the pool will re-open but early estimates are that it will be closed for six months.
Plans are being put together to extend the opening hours at Aberfan and Merthyr Vale Community Centre and people are being encouraged to use their membership there.
Sally Church is the interim chief executive of Wellbeing@Merthyr and she said: “There is no option but to drain the pool to assess what has caused the tiles to pop and to allow the repairs to be made.
“The pools will close on December 2 in preparation for a full structural survey and specification for the scope of the works to be drawn up.
“We’re unsure of timelines for the closure at the moment, but are currently estimating it to be around six months.
“As much as is practical we’ll move activities to Aberfan. We’ll be developing the programme and timetable over the next two weeks and we will be in touch with specific customers during that time.
“We know customers have been concerned about the temporary matting. We’re delighted that we’ve been able to identify funding and we look forward to permanent repairs which will result in a much better environment for all swimmers.
“We’ll be keeping customers up to date with the developments and hope to be able to share progress on the refurbishment as it happens.”
