In the coming month a new child care service will be established at Plas Ffrancon Leisure Centre in Bethesda, bringing services offered by the Council under one roof.
The play group will be funded by the Flying Start scheme which provides intensive and specialized services to meet the needs of all children up to the age of four in the most deprived areas of Gerlan and Ogwen in Bethesda.
The Flying Start scheme has been providing services for families in Bethesda since September 2013. Establishing a play group for children between two and three years old at Plas Ffrancon Leisure Centre will enable the service to develop further and offer more support to families in the area that are in need.
Councillor Mair Rowlands, Gwynedd Council’s Leisure Cabinet Member said: “By bringing services together, it enables us as a Council to ensure that services such as leisure centres can continue in our communities despite the financial challenges the Council is currently facing. Establishing a Flying Start play group at Plas Ffrancon Leisure Centre is a great example of how existing Council buildings can continue to be of use to the community in many different ways.
“This development, which also includes improvements to the building, will be a great benefit to the whole leisure centre, by ensuring the future of the centre for years to come.”
In order to establish the Flying Start play group at Plas Ffrancon Leisure Centre, some alterations will be made to the building over the coming months. This work will include:
• relocating the fitness room to the centre’s ground floor
• adapt a space in the centre for high quality child care provision
• adapt a room to hold group sessions
• create a fenced outside play area in front of the centre
• create an office space for the Flying Start team which includes Health and Family Support Officers and Key Workers.
Due to building work the fitness room will be closed to users for a short period of time, and other rooms will be allocated for fitness sessions and classes.
Councillor Mair Rowlands added: “Any changes to the centres timetables will be advertised before hand. I would like to emphasise that there won’t be any disruption to fitness classes and sessions held at the centre, and members of staff will be on hand to inform users of any changes before hand.”
To find out if Flying Start could help you, contact the team by sending an e-mail to DechraunDeg@gwynedd.gov.uk or phone 01286 678824.
For more information about Plas Ffrancon Leisure Centre, visit www.gwynedd.gov.uk/leisure or phone 01248 601515.
