Colcot Sports Centre in Barry could be turned into housing

We met Michael Goode at the huge hockey pitch at Colcot Sports Centre. The only problem with it is you can’t get in there at the moment - in fact you haven’t been able to get in there since 2019.

And it looks like hockey teams might not be able to get in there again with initial discussions taking place to turn the site over to the Vale Council’s “Housing Revenue Account” – aka, use the land to build houses.

Mr Goode lamented the lack of quality pitches for hockey teams in Barry – the nearest team can be found in Penarth – and had a wider concern about the lack of sports facilities for children of the town in general.

Vale Council do have plans to address this. Part of the redevelopment of the Colcot Centre would see a “pump truck” (think of a skatepark for BMXs) and a children's play area built there.

There’s also plans for a refurbishment of the Buttrills Community Centre to be turned into changing facilities for the Buttrills playing field – a grass pitch unusable for hockey and a site where teams playing there currently use Colcot Centre changing facilities – almost a mile away.

The council has also allocated refurbished sports pitches to three schools in the area; rugby at Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Morgannwg, football at Whitmore and hockey at Pencoedtre.

Is this the end of the Colcot Sports Centre? (Image: Google Maps)

However, Mr Goode has lamented the use of the hockey field at Pencoedtre saying the school is shut when using it after school – meaning there are no changing facilities available, and he also has concerns about booking the pitch – no formal online booking system is in place, instead you have to write an email to the council.

Mr Goode said: “It’s affecting the community. You have this facility (Colcot) not being used. If you have this facility why not use it instead of getting rid of it.”

Michael Goode, whose daughter played for a championship winning school hockey team in Barry, has lamented the state of local sports facilities (Image: Newsquest)

What does the Vale Council's report on the Calcot Sports Centre in Barry actually say?

The existing changing facilities at the Barry sports centre at Colcot are in urgent need of replacement as they have fallen into disrepair and do not meet the needs of all customers.

The former artificial turf pitch at the Colcot is also surplus to requirement with recent developments and improvements at Barry secondary schools and also Jenner Park.

Given that the existing old sports centre changing rooms at the Colcot primarily cater for the pitches on the Buttrills, an opportunity exists to consider improvements to changing facilities at the Buttrills site as well as the potential to masterplan that part of the Colcot site.

The report therefore proposes the development of a new changing facility at the Buttrills and the disposal of the redundant part of the old Colcot Sports Centre site, this being that part currently used as the car park, changing rooms and the ATP facility.

The opportunity to look at future recreational opportunities also forms part of the initial proposals and this can potentially include the development of a new pump (cycle) track and children’s play area.

The report also recommends declaring part of the Colcot site surplus to requirements and to facilitate its disposal to the Housing Revenue Account. 

The hockey pitch at Colcot (Image: Newsquest)

The hockey pitch has been disused since 2019 (Image: Newsquest)

A council spokesperson said: “The council is currently considering various options for the future of Colcot Sports Centre and further details will be released in due course.

“The hockey pitch at the site was opened in 1996 and is now at the end of its lifespan, which was originally designed to be eight years. This was far exceeded due to regular Council maintenance.

The Buttrills community centre is planned for major development (Image: Google Maps)

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• Park handed over to the community council in a bid to improve the area

“Significant consultation took place when heavy investment was made in Artificial Turf Pitches (ATPs) as part of the Council’s 21st Century School redevelopment programme.

“The three in Barry were built in locations that would generate maximum usage, by schools in the day and the public during evenings and weekends, with each suited to a particular sport.

“Rugby was the priority at Ysgol Gymraeg Bro Morgannwg, football at Whitmore and hockey at Pencoedtre.” 

The hockey-specific pitch at Pencoedtre is available for hire to the public during evenings, weekends and school holidays.

Bookings can be made by emailing Pencoedtrebookingrequests@valeofglamorgan.gov.uk.

What's the state of local sport in Barry? Easy to get a pitch? Good facilities available? Let us know emailing harry.jamshidian@newsquest.co.uk.

Got a story in Barry? Email harry.jamshidian@newsquest.co.uk.