Local News for the Vale

Colcot Sports Centre faces uncertain future

By Lily Mott | Updated Tuesday 13th February 2024 11:25am |  Follow us @broradio

The hockey pitch at Colcot Sports Centre closed almost four years ago at the start of the COVID pandemic. The pitch has not been renovated or open to the public since then.

“It could be a state-of-the-art facility, and that's what I'd like to see,” said Barry resident Michael Goode.

Goode, the father of a former hockey player at Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Morgannwg, has been calling for a renovation of the pitch since March 2023.

Goode contacted the Vale of Glamorgan Council about the pitch's condition after the under-16 and under-18 hockey teams at Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Morgannwg became Welsh champions last year. Two players from the school were recruited to play for the Welsh Hockey squad on the weekends.

Goode hopes the hockey pitch will be renovated to create a place for Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Morgannwg's teams to train and play matches against other schools. Goode would like the pitch to have bleachers for spectators and a new fence that will make it nicer to watch the matches.

Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Morgannwg's hockey team practiced at Colcot Sports Centre before the pitch closed in 2020.

“A lot of the girls in Barry have to travel elsewhere to play,” Goode said. “I think there's a bias against girls' sports. I've got a son and a daughter, and you can see the difference.”

The Vale of Glamorgan Council says each school in the area has a pitch suited to a particular sport. Rugby is the priority at Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Morgannwg, while hockey is the priority at Pencoedtre.

 “The hockey-specific pitch at Pencoedtre is available for hire to the public during evenings, weekends and school holidays,” according to a statement from the Vale of Glamorgan Council.

The council says it is currently in discussions with a number of organizations regarding the future of the site. The council is considering grants to replace the changing room buildings in the centre that do not meet requirements for the rapidly expanding number of female football players in Barry.

“If any further facilities were to be developed in the future at this or any other site in Barry, it is likely to be football where the majority of demand for this type of facility exists,” said a statement from the Vale of Glamorgan Council.

The council says further details about their plans for the Colcot Sports Centre will be released in due course.

Share this story:

More Local News:

The Four Candidates Standing for Police and Crime Commissioner
Voters go to the polls on Thursday 2nd May 2024

Inspectors praise learning services
Positive reports for the Vale's learning and skills directorate

Manslaughter inquiry after railway death
A man in his 30s was questioned following an incident at Bridgend

Annual Dog Beach Ban returns to a number of Vale Beaches
The annual ban runs from 1st May to 30th September each year