Senior Ceredigion councillors have backed Cardigan’s Memorial Pool/Fairfield Car Park site as the preferred site for the Wellbeing Centre development.

Ceredigion County Council’s Cabinet, meeting on October 1, discussed a preferred site for the Wellbeing Centre development in Cardigan, the second in the county, from an initial shortlist of four, reduced down to two.

An online survey was undertaken as the first stage of the public engagement exercise and 377 responses were received, members heard.

The feasibility study was asked to consider four potential sites for the Wellbeing Centre: Fairfield Car Park, Cardigan Memorial Pool and Hall, Teifi Leisure Centre, and Dolwerdd Fields, with the options later boiled down to Cardigan Memorial Pool / Fairfield Car Park and Teifi Leisure Centre.

For the Cardigan Memorial Pool / Fairfield Car Park site a new build was recommended over a refurbishment of the existing facility, the report says.

The report says the Cardigan Memorial Pool / Fairfield Car Park site “is the site nearest to the current location of the town’s library and the council’s direct customer contact provision in the town and it is proposed to encompass these services within the Wellbeing Centre development”.

It added: “Accessibility was a key aspect of both the public and stakeholder engagement. In this respect Cardigan Memorial Pool / Fairfield Car Park is quoted in the report as ‘Prominent town centre location. Highly accessible with public transport available in town centre location’ whilst the Teifi Leisure Centre site is quoted in the report as ‘poor and tortuous access route onto and through the adjacent school and college’.

“Therefore, officers preferred option is a new build development on the Cardigan Memorial Pool / Fairfield Car Park site and this is the recommendation to Cabinet.”

Cabinet approved the Cardigan Memorial Pool / Fairfield Car Park site as the preferred site for the Wellbeing Centre development, along with a new build development as the preferred option with a call to reduce car park space losses to a minimum.

A business case model will now be needed, along with a public consultation on the proposed design.

Further engagement with Hywel Dda University Health Board will take place during the business plan development to confirm the services they would be interested in delivering from the Wellbeing Centre and the facilities required to accommodate them, the report says.