Bumper half-term bodes well for Splash Magic

‘Fantastic’ half-term figures have been reported at a former council leisure centre taken over by the community.

Last week saw thousands go through the doors at Splash Magic in Acrefair, providing precious income which will be key to the venture’s long-term viability.

It was recently reported that the popular facility, formerly known as Plas Madoc Leisure Centre, was operating at a £400,000-a-year loss under the council’s ownership, but the future looks brighter under the social enterprise model.

And with uncertainty over the future of council-run Waterworld centre in Wrexham, Splash Magic could soon be the only not-for-profit facility of its kind in the county borough.

Splash Community Trust chairman Darrell Wright said the team of volunteers still ‘can’t get carried away’ despite a successful first three months since the centre reopened on December 6.

He said: “We’re thrilled to have had some really busy weekends and to have had such fantastic numbers during half-term, and it makes all the hard work worthwhile.

“But we can’t get carried away, because we will need many more bumper weeks and months if we’re going to make sure Splash stays open.

“We’re still short of the 600 monthly memberships we need to tick over, but we’re certainly in a much better position than we were a year ago and than many thought we would be in.”

Darrell, who lives in Trevor, said the Trust owes ‘another huge thank you’ to Coleg Cambria students, who have agreed to undertake a variety of maintenance jobs at Splash including tiling, welding and joinery.

“The college’s support has been brilliant, invaluable really. Any work the students have done has been completed to a very high standard and they have saved us a lot of money, which is vital when every penny counts.”

Volunteers are still needed to help out at Splash. If you are interested, call Darrell on 07882 947804 or the centre on 01978 821600.