It has been a long time coming but the wait for a major leisure and health project in Llanelli will be over this year with the opening of the Pentre Awel complex. The Carmarthenshire Council-led project by Delta Lakes will comprise four different zones, and it’s zone one – called Canolfan, meaning centre – that the authority has said will open at some point this spring.
Canolfan will consist of a new leisure centre, including a sports hall and fitness studios, plus a 25m swimming pool, a learner pool, and a hydrotherapy pool. There’ll also be a cafe, a communal space, and a health and well-being academy with a range of clinical rooms run by Swansea University.
Later in the year Hywel Dda University Board will begin occupation of a clinical delivery centre, providing therapies such as speech and language, audiology and podiatry. A clinical research hub will also be based there. In addition, Canolfan will have rental space for private, public and third sector organisations.
Canolfan has a £96 million price tag and is being funded via the city deal for the Swansea Bay City Region by the council, the UK and Welsh Governments, and other partners. Contractor Bouygues UK began piling work in early 2023 and has been onsite since, dealing with a run of extreme weather which has set construction back by three months.
Image showing how the 25m pool and learner pool at Pentre Awel will look
(Image: Powell Dobson Architects)
Image showing how the communal area will look
(Image: Powell Dobson Architects)
Cllr Hazel Evans, cabinet member for regeneration, leisure, culture and tourism, said the council was excited about the spring opening. “This project has been many years in development, and we are looking forward to welcoming Llanelli residents to benefit from all that Canolfan Pentre Awel has to offer when it opens,” she said. “Canolfan is just the start of the journey, and the council will continue to progress the future phases of Pentre Awel to support the regeneration of this part of our county and improve health and well-being outcomes for our residents.”
The second and third zones at the 83-acre site will include a residential care and nursing home with around 86 beds, including some for short-term re-ablement stays, plus “extra care” and “assisted living” units for people to live in. People in the assisted living properties may need some care; those in the extra care units are likely to need a little more. There is a path around the lake and further landscaping work will be carried out.
Zone four, across the main road to the south, is set to feature housing and a hotel – potentially a four-star one. Expressions of interest have been sought from operators. These have been shortlisted, and the council is working with the shortlisted bidders to develop a specification for the hotel.
Independent ward councillors Sean Rees and Louvain Roberts said they welcomed the efforts being made to open Canolfan and were pressing to make it accessible for everyone in the community. They said in a statement: “The development will also be accessible now through the new bus service route and we are pleased to hear of the commitment from Actif Sir Gar (the council’s leisure centre service) that costs should remain in line with current provision. We are looking forward to the opening this spring.”