£50,000 grant reprieve for Plas Madoc leisure centre, Wrexham

The community fought to save the complex from closure in 2014

A community-run leisure centre in one of Wrexham's poorest areas will remain open after it received a £50,000 grant to keep it going.

The Plas Madoc centre, in Acrefair, was saved from demolition in 2014 by local people and councillors.

Volunteers set up the Splash Magic charitable trust to run the centre and have overhauled the facilities.

The site could have shut at the end of the month had Wrexham council not granted the money.

It is half the amount the trust wanted but the decision has also paved the way for it to be able to receive a further £500,000 from the Welsh Government which had been conditionally pledged.

Darrell Wright, chairman of Splash Magic Trust, said the decision was a "surprise" because a council report had recommended a grant request be rejected, partly due to concerns over governance.

"I think that public pressure and a look at some of the answers we had given to the points raised swayed their judgement and gave us a positive result," he said.

"It's given us the confidence to move forward with plans we have in mind and to establish a rosier future for the centre."

The trust said the money would go towards the building's development.

Since taking over, it said it has drastically cut losses and increased footfall with 400,000 visits this year.