BRINGING in a professional company to manage leisure services has been “one of the best decisions” a council has made in the last few years, a councillor has said.
A recent meeting of the council’s Thriving Merthyr Tydfil scrutiny committee was given an update on the impact of Halo Leisure on the council’s leisure services and assets.
The council’s leisure services were transferred to Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Trust (MTLT) back in 2015 with the idea being that the council would save money in the long term but the transfer did not result in these projected savings and in May 2024 the council took back its leisure assets and services.
In August 2024 the council became the corporate trustee of the Aberfan and Merthyr Vale Community Centre.
With the previous Leisure Trust (Wellbeing Merthyr) being liquidated and the council’s leisure assets and services being returned it was decided an interim leisure provider be brought in to manage these services and assets over a two-to-three-year period until the council decided the future direction.
The committee report said over the course of the last two years Halo Leisure had safeguarded the council’s leisure services, implemented a range of positive interventions, solidified the staffing HR systems, and upgraded their ICT infrastructure.
The report said these “interventions” saw increases in usage and membership figures and consequential improvements made to Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Centre, Aberfan and Merthyr Vale Community Centre, and the Canolfan Café and Splashpad.
The report said performance against budget has remained strong thus reducing the subsidy paid by the council.
Maintenance costs have been higher than initially anticipated, mainly as a result of addressing legacy issues inherited at the start of the interim contract and ensuring facilities remain safe, compliant, and operational, the report added.
It said despite this the current projected subsidy remains better than originally budgeted for due to an improved financial control system, strengthened income performance, and joint working between the the council and Halo Leisure.
Budget performance is reported as being significantly stronger than originally projected across key income generation areas.
The report said Halo Leisure has continued to expand inclusive community outreach including the autism-friendly swimming programme and other autism-friendly services as well as a new carers programme to support unpaid carers to access physical activity and wellbeing opportunities.
The report also mentioned the resolution of historic backpay issues inherited from the very start of the contract and that 26 newly-recruited staff members have been supported primarily into frontline operational roles such as swimming teachers and lifeguards.
Halo has signed a trade union partnership recognition agreement and launched a volunteer scheme to support the Feel Good for Life and aquatic programmes.
The report said employee engagement levels have “remained strong” and in terms of health and safety a number of audits have been carried out on Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Centre and Aberfan and Merthyr Vale Community Centre.
These showed a 20% increase in scores compared to the 2024 audits which were carried out shortly after Halo Leisure assumed the interim management of those buildings and reflected the conditions and systems inherited from the previous management organisation.
Some of the improvements made over the last few years include café improvements and new pool blocks at Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Centre, a gym refurbishment, plant upgrades, and completion of the 3G pitch at Aberfan and Merthyr Vale Community Centre as well as extensive refurbishment works at the Cyfarthfa Park Splash Pad in order to improve reliability, compliance, and safety.
The report said memberships and general courses have continued to grow throughout the year, increasing by approximately 16% during this period.
It also said that participation in ‘Fit for Life’ and the ‘National Exercise Referral Scheme’ (NERS) programmes has remained strong.
In 2025-26 water usage has reduced by more than 15% and electricity consumption has reduced by 44% through the installation of pool covers, plant improvements, lighting upgrades, and optimisation of building management systems.
Halo is working with the council and decarbonisation consultants on a funding application to Welsh Government aimed at delivering further decarbonisation works at Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Centre and potentially Aberfan and Merthyr Vale Community Centre.
Water management issues have been resolved which has resulted in the saving of water and energy, the report added.
The operational issues at the Cyfarthfa Park Splash Pad have also been resolved and condition surveys, compliance checks, and targeted
inspections have been carried out across all leisure sites to better understand inherited risks and these are included within a live risk register.
In April 2025 a price increase was implemented in line with the approved financial plan and a further pricing proposal for 2026 has also been developed and shared.
Catering performance has improved significantly across all Halo managed sites with strong year-on-year income growth, the report said.
At Merthyr Tydfil Leisure Centre the café layout has been adjusted to improve integration with the wider centre and create a “more welcoming environment” while the Canolfan Café has got a premises licence which allows extra evening use and wider community activity.
Halo Leisure secured grant money to transform two first-floor office spaces into a food pantry.
Canolfan Café at Cyfarthfa Park now has a Chatty Café scheme, fully booked autism-friendly splashpad sessions, and a book club to support inclusion, wellbeing, and Welsh language use.
The report said antisocial behaviour had been a challenge throughout 2025 with considerable negative feedback from customers and staff alike and to combat this a new CCTV system was installed in liaison with MTCBC, security staff were hired during the holidays and on Friday evenings, and all centre managers attended specific conflict management sessions.
Councillor Geraint Thomas said: “I think it’s been one of the best decisions we’ve made over the last few years to bring in a company, a professional company, to run our leisure services.
“The transformation, as we can see before us, is amazing. It is really, really good.”
He said he was looking positively to the future about how leisure services improve going forward.
Councillor Clive Jones said it was a positive report and highlighted that useage in all facilities, particularly in the leisure centres, has increased significantly from what it used to be and clearly one aspect of that is the fact that the swimming pool is up and running.
He said it’s all going in the right direction and from what he could see the public are happy with the services being provided.
He said there had been problems in various places but this time round they’ve got a contractor in that knows where the problems are and has clearly tried to deal with them as quickly as possible and there are others where work had been done.
