PEMBROKESHIRE County Councillor Alan Dennison has welcomed the Cabinet’s recent decision to back a multi-million pound scheme which will see new leisure centres built at Pembroke and Milford Haven.

Posting on Facebook, the County Councillor for Milford’s North Ward said:

“Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet has taken major steps towards providing fantastic new leisure facilities across the County, including the proposed building of new leisure centres for Pembroke and Milford Haven.

“The Cabinet has backed a multi-million pound Leisure Investment Programme which also includes £4.6m to repair and improve the swimming pool at Tenby Leisure Centre.

“Pembroke Leisure Centre was opened in 1974 and Milford Haven Leisure Centre opened in 1984 (ten years after the swimming pool opened on site).

“The report to Cabinet detailed that both ageing facilities require significant ongoing maintenance, totalling millions of pounds.

“Replacing these leisure centres is considered the best way forward to ensure leisure provision is fit for the future in both communities.

“For Milford Haven, Cabinet Members approved £1.2m in the capital programme to develop a leisure brief and undertake design works and other pre-construction works, to locate a new leisure centre as part of the new primary and secondary school project in the town.”

In response to a comment suggesting it would be better to refurbish the existing leisure centre, Cllr Dennison reasoned:

“While I would typically concur, the financial investment needed to modernise the facility would significantly exceed what Pembrokeshire taxpayers should reasonably contribute, especially considering that a new centre could attract grant funding.

“I understand that taxpayers ultimately finance these initiatives, as governments do not possess their own funds. However, I would prefer to allocate £3 million from Pembrokeshire’s budget, with the remainder covered by taxpayers nationwide, rather than burden our council tax with a £5 million expense to merely refurbish the existing structure.”