A new Wellbeing Centre will be developed at the site of Cardigan’s former memorial pool and the neighbouring Fairfield car park after Cabinet members gave the green light to the scheme.
Meeting on 1 October, Cabinet approved pushing ahead with the plans for the county’s second wellbeing centre, voting for the Cardigan Memorial Pool/Fairfield Car Park site as the preferred site.
The county’s first Wellbeing Centre was opened in Lampeter last year despite local objections.
Council agreed in December 2022 that the second centre would be in Cardigan and launched a feasibility study and online survey into the potential options.
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The report said that the exercise “reinforced that the concept of developing a Wellbeing Centre in Cardigan is widely supported”
Ceredigion council initially identified four potential sites for the new centre: Fairfield car park; Cardigan Memorial Pool; Teifi Leisure Centre; and Dolwerdd fields.
In its appraisal of the potential scheme, Fairfield car park and the pool were treated as a joint potential site, with the preferred option being a new build on the site rather than renovation of existing buildings.
Scrutiny committee members backed the development but called for it to take up less space “so as not to lose so many car parking spaces” from the Fairfield site.
Lampeter Leisure Centre was transformed into a Wellbeing Centre and opened in June.
The scheme received a number of objections when it was proposed, with Lampeter Town Council objecting to the reduction in the sports hall size, as did a local netball club, 18 residents, and the town’s two county councillors at the time.
A petition against the changes attracted more than 600 signatures.
Cardigan Memorial Pool and Hall closed its doors earlier this year and was taken back into council ownership.
The trustees of Cardigan Memorial Pool and Hall said they made the ‘difficult decision’ to close the pool at the end of March due to ‘significant financial challenges’.
Now the preferred site has been agreed for the Wellbeing Centre, a business case model will be needed, along with further assessment of the preferred site in respect of parking, transport and planning, and a public consultation on the proposed design.
Further engagement with Hywel Dda University Health Board will take place during the business plan development to confirm the services they would be interested in delivering from the Wellbeing Centre and the facilities required to accommodate them, a Cabinet report said.