Llanfair residents have raised concerns with the state of the town’s leisure centre after issues with the ceiling have become an “annual issue”.

As the future of leisure centres in Powys remains unclear while the council carries out an in-depth review of their services, Llanfair Caereinion Leisure Centre had to temporarily close one of its main sports halls due to damage to the ceiling.

The hall was closed in November, with sports groups postpone meetings due to the issue of plaster and debris falling from the roof, which Ian Davies, chair of Llanfair Caereinion Town Council, has described as an "ongoing problem”.

He said: “The sports hall in question has now re-opened, but the fabric and repair of the ceiling is still a matter for Powys Council to deal with.

“We have expressed our frustration that this issue keeps happening, year after year.

“Llanfair Caereinion Leisure Centre was first built in the 1980s and from day one they have had issues with that roof leaking.

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“It’s become a common thing every year to have issues with the ceiling, requiring repairs after periods of heavy rain. Each year when the rain comes down they have to put out buckets to deal with the leaks.

“As I said, we have expressed regular frustrations with this as it seems to be an annual issue. Each year the hall is temporarily closed due to leaks. It falls to Powys Council to make adequate repairs.”

Groups such as town’s walking football team had to postpone meetings during the temporary closure earlier in November, but were able to resume meetings on Friday, November 17.

Llanfair Walking Football member David Cribb said: “The ceiling has been an ongoing problem and the general facilities at the leisure centre are quite dated now.

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“It feels like it’s time for some serious investment.”

Mr Cribb added that while the hall has now re-opened, the group has not been given a “no play” date for when repairs are scheduled to be carried out.

Powys Council has said it aims to carry out repairs to Llanfair Caereinion Leisure Centre “as soon as practically possible”.

A spokesperson for the council said: “The council can confirm that the sports hall at Llanfair Caereinion Leisure Centre is temporarily closed due to plaster falling from the ceiling.

“The council is assessing the ceiling to see what repairs are required. Once the assessment is complete, the council will appoint a contractor to carry out the repairs as soon as practically possible.”

The closure and needed repairs come ahead of Powys County Council’s impending decision on the future of leisure centre facilities in Powys, following a proposed winter closure and U-turn following public backlash in December 2022.

The ongoing review will reportedly not affect the repairs at Llanfair Caereinion Leisure Centre’s sports hall, which the council says will be carried out at a future date.