Swansea leisure destinations get post-pandemic boost

Freedom Leisure, Wales National Pool Swansea, Plantasia and the National Waterfront Museum all saw a much-needed return of custom after being financially supported through the Covid-19 crisis by Welsh Government and the council.

Visitor numbers to the city centre LC and its other community leisure facilities jumped by 84% to 1.42m in the months after re-opening doors to the public. Wales National Pool Swansea visitor numbers rose to 202,000.

Plantasia also saw attendance figures rise as it re-opened with new attractions, including the launch of a crocodile feeding experience and the birth of two Egyptian Tortoises – a critically-endangered species.

And while all the venues face challenges ahead, particularly with soaring energy bills and the need to continue to build visitor numbers, Robert Francis-Davies, Cabinet Member for Investment, Regeneration and Tourism, said their continuing success was vital.

Swansea Council’s Cabinet will next Thursday consider its Leisure Partnerships Annual Report, looking at visitor numbers and financial performance for the period 2021/22 of organisations in the city to which the council provides financial and other support.

Cllr Francis-Davies said: “Throughout the pandemic, the council was there for our leisure services partners because they play a critical part in the life of our city and our local communities.

“Since the end of the pandemic, for example, the number of people on Freedom Leisure’s local Learn to Swim programme has soared by 68%. And last summer eight swimmers from WNPS represented Wales at the Commonwealth Games.

“At Plantasia staff are doing amazing things to encourage visitors to take an interest in the world around them, including a new local gin flavoured with lime leaves grown at the venue.

“These are achievements that go above and beyond. Our communities would be poorer places were it not for our leisure partners and their commitment to the health, wellbeing and enjoyment they offer to our communities.”

Cllr Francis-Davies said: “That’s why we’ll continue to be there, supporting them as they deal with the challenges of rising energy and other costs in the months and years ahead.”

The report to Cabinet focuses on the 2021/22 period and highlights how the council’s leisure partners, like other organisations across Wales and the UK, were emerging from the pandemic, assessing their challenges and opportunities for the years ahead.

At the time the council agreed to underwrite potential continuing losses of around £1.7m for the venues, the majority of which was claimed back by the authority from the Welsh Government’s pandemic hardship fund.

The review of 2021/22 also identifies how each of the partners are working on plans to increase income and manage costs.

At Freedom Leisure casual swimmers have been returning in numbers, while its Active Communities initiative is attracting new swimming enthusiasts and facility upgrades at Penyrheol, Bishopston, Morriston, the LC and a new community sports barn at Cefn Hengoed have either been completed or are in progress.

Plantasia operators Parkwood Leisure have also developed new facilities, visitor trails and educational facilities to attract new visitors and add value to their experience.

Through separate and differently-arranged partnership agreements, Swansea Council says it also continues to support Swansea Tennis Centre and Swansea Bowls Stadium as they recover visitor numbers following the pandemic.

Although a community facility too, elite players based at the tennis centre, some male and female players have been ranked number one in the UK for their age group. Members of the Swansea Bowls Stadium also competed for Bowls Team Wales as part of the visually-impaired team at last year’s Commonwealth Games.

(Lead image: Swansea Council)