As a community we will miss this fantastic venue.
Over the coming weeks, and we will be losing our swimming pool which has been in our community since the 1970’s. Harlech swimming pool has provided a facility for teaching 1000’s of children and adults to swim, employed 100’s of people locally over the years and provided a great wet weather alternative to visitors in the area.
Earlier this year the Community Councils of Talsarnau, Llanbedr, Barmouth, Dyffryn & Tal y Bont decided they would no longer support HAL financially through the precept payment, we were given 2 months’ notice about the reduction in funding of around £30,000 a year. We have continued to keep the doors open for as long as possible and Gwynedd Council were approached to ask for some financial support so that we can remain open, but we received a letter on the 24.07.24 stating that Gwynedd Council would not be able to help us financially due to their own financial constraints and having to cut their own core services.
Over the last few months, there has been a lot of activity in the centre as many reports have been produced which looks at future opportunities for HAL around energy saving and a professional business plan was produced which identifies that there is a viable business within HAL, it gives a clear direction for the centre to secure its future. However, unfortunately the money has run out before we have been given the opportunity to make any changes or plan for the future. The business plan is available along with other relevant reports and can be seen below.
The centre staff (3 x full-time) and casual staff have been informed of the decision that the centre will close before the end of August 2024. We have been lucky enough to have some very dedicated staff over the years who have worked hard to keep the doors open for the last 14 years as a not for profit – social enterprise.A special thanks to Donna Morris-Collins and the current team at HAL for working hard to create new income streams and generating a varied and exciting timetable for both the local community and wider visitors to enjoy along with a great re-launch of the swimming pool café.
The swimming pool in Harlech would have closed in 2008 but the community felt very strongly about keeping this important service within our community and a group of volunteers started the process of taking over the running of the swimming pool in Harlech from Gwynedd Council. Initially the volunteer board successful applied for a grant from the National Lottery to build a new state of the art climbing wall and a new café along with essential maintenance work on the swimming pool basin. There have been so many volunteers involved in HAL over the years and we can safely say that without this local support and enthusiasm for the centre – the doors would have closed a long time ago so a big thank you to everyone who has been involved with HAL over the years but now we need your help again. The current board of directors’ requests that members of the community step forward to volunteer their time to help deliver the next phase (whatever that might be). The work involved must not rest on the shoulders of a handful of people within our community, this is a community owned asset.
To offer your help please email: heidiwilliamshal@outlook.com
