TORFAEN Leisure Trust staff have defended the decision to close Pontypool swimming pool for the summer holidays.

The decision had been criticised by parents, unhappy with timing the closure for when children are off from school and during the hot summer months.

“The last thing we want to do is to have the pool empty and out of action,” said Sally Church, the CEO of the Torfaen Leisure Trust.

“Sometimes if you do a patch job, you are just storing up problems for the future. With this work, we are biting the bullet, doing the whole floor and hopefully that last us for another 25 years.”

Torfaen Leisure Trust had previously announced that the main pool and hydroslides at the Pontypool Active Living Centre would close for three weeks due to essential maintenance. However, after work started on the pool bottom, it was found that the entire floor needed to be re-tiled and it seemed likely that the pool would be closed until September.

Alternative options, including the use of divers, were mooted but it was decided that the least amount of disruption would be caused by closing the pool and slides for a period.

“We think it will take up to four weeks,” said Ms Church.

“Services are being increased at Cwmbran and Fairwater, and our training pool in Pontypool remains open. It would be a health and safety risk if the slides were to stay open during the repairs.”

The leisure trust has worked alongside Torfaen council to continue providing public swimming elsewhere in the borough.

“There is no plans to close the pool in Pontypool. Hence we are investing this time and effort into repairing it,” added Ms Church.

Ian Rosser, the head coach at Torfaen Dolphins swimming club, has accepted the work is required and is looking forward to the long term benefits of the repairs.

He said: “We understand that it is never ideal if a facility goes down but we are looking to the long term benefits for everybody.

“The trust have worked their hardest to accommodate us and others who use the pool elsewhere across the borough.

“We are lucky to have three centres in the borough that are so close together. We are fortunate to have three great facilities.

“The kids will be back in September and hopefully not to long after they return, the pool will be open again as well.”

For information on the alternative arrangements while the closure is ongoing in Pontypool, visit torfaenleisuretrust.co.uk/en/