Groundwork begins on £6m Ystrad Mynach sport complex (From Campaign Series)

Groundwork begins on £6m Ystrad Mynach sport complex

4:29pm Friday 28th September 2012 in Campaign news

WELSH rugby star Leigh Halfpenny attended the demolition of a hospital, which will make way for a £6m centre for sporting excellence.

Clearance work on the site of the old Ystrad Mynach Hospital (opposite the new Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr hospital development), have started to make way for the state-of-the-art facility for football and rugby which will boast two 3rd Generation (3G) artificial playing surfaces.

The Caerphilly County Borough Council facility will have the pitches, lighting, stands, terracing and car parking constructed to the highest standards to meet the exacting requirements of each sporting body involved.

Leigh Halfpenny joined representatives from Newport Gwent Dragons, Cardiff City Football Club and the Welsh Rugby Union along with the Leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council, Cllr Harry Andrews to mark the special occasion. "It’s great to see demolition work start on the site and we now look forward to the development taking shape," said Cllr Harry Andrew.

"This new sporting complex will be of national significance and will benefit sports development at all levels.

The state of the art facilities will complement the fantastic new hospital that sits directly opposite and is yet another example of the successful regeneration that is taking place across the whole area."

WRU Head of Rugby Joe Lydon said, "We applaud Caerphilly Council’s proactive initiative in creating this facility which will greatly enhance the development of elite sports men and women in the area, which will be of great benefit to the local community, the Dragons region, and to Wales."  

Cllr Dave Poole, Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure said, "We will be able to offer the local community use of this world class facility which complements our efforts to encourage greater sporting participation across all age groups within the area."  

The facility will be both exclusive and inclusive.

It will be exclusive in that it offers the possibilities of matches at the highest level being played together with high class performance training and sport science facilities.

It will provide many of the training requirements of elite sportsmen and women in one single venue.

It will also be inclusive as it will be used by the whole community – enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities.