Praise for thriving Wrexham leisure centre ahead of awards ceremony

Supporters have congratulated staff and volunteers at a thriving leisure centre after it was nominated for a national award.

Plas Madoc, which is run by the volunteer-led Splash Community Trust, has been shortlisted for this year’s Social Business Wales Awards, which take place on September 26th.

Earlier this month Wrexham.com reported that the centre will be competing to be Welsh Social Enterprise Of The Year at a glitzy awards evening in Cardiff later this month.

Plas Madoc has a well documented recent history, with Wrexham Council voting to close and knock the building down back in 2014 during the ongoing ‘Reshaping of Services’ aka budget cuts. A public meeting was held with the agreement in principle to explore a community run option, which was resisted at various points, however finally got support to reopen.

Local Assembly Member Ken Skates, who helped co-found the group, visited Plas Madoc earlier this month with fellow AM Mark Drakeford to congratulate the team in person.

Mr Skates said: “Plas Madoc is an amazing local success story and I’m incredibly proud of where it is today, with improvements being made all the time and visitor numbers increasing.

“Last year a Welsh Government grant of £500,000 helped fund key structural work including a replacement roof, fixing wiring and insulation, replacing pool plant equipment and upgrading the centre’s CCTV and fire alarm, and now a new conference space and spin studio is being created.

“The main sports hall has also been given a makeover. Improvements are being made constantly and it’s fantastic to see the centre thriving like we knew it could.”

Mr Skates added: “It’s impossible to describe just how much credit the Splash Community Trust and the staff here deserve. They’ve done an incredible job.”

Splash Community Trust secretary Stella Matthews said the centre now employs more than 40 people and has become a thriving community hub.

Mr Drakeford said: “Ken has told me a lot about Plas Madoc and the amazing turnaround in the past few years. I have wanted to visit for some time and it was wonderful to meet the staff and volunteers and to see the centre so busy and bustling on a Saturday morning.

“I wish the trust the best of luck at the awards and for the future.”