Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet has taken major steps towards providing new leisure facilities across the County, including the proposed building of new leisure centres for Pembroke and Milford Haven - along with £4.6m to repair and improve the swimming pool at Tenby Leisure Centre.

The Cabinet has backed a multi-million pound Leisure Investment Programme for Pembrokeshire facilities.

Pembroke Leisure Centre was opened in 1974 and Milford Haven Leisure Centre opened in 1984 (ten years after the swimming pool opened on site).

The report to Cabinet detailed that both aging facilities require significant ongoing maintenance, totalling millions of pounds.

Replacing these leisure centres is considered the best way forward to ensure leisure provision is fit for the future in both communities.

For Milford Haven, Cabinet Members approved £1.2m in the capital programme to develop a leisure brief and undertake design works and other preconstruction works, to locate a new leisure centre as part of the new primary and secondary school project in the town.

For Pembroke, Councillors have agreed £195,000 to undertake feasibility works for a new leisure centre on the current site.

For Tenby, Cabinet has agreed a capital works grant of £4.6m to the Tenby and District Swimming Pool Association, the owner of the pool, for works to extend the lifespan of the pool by at least 10 years.

This will enable longer-term options for the pool - including potential co-location with future secondary school provision in Tenby - to be explored.

Cllr Rhys Sinnett, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said: “We have today taken a significant step forward to provide leisure facilities fit for the future that our communities deserve.

“We will move forward with the Leisure Investment Programme which commits to providing high quality sports and leisure facilities throughout Pembrokeshire.

“Where that provision requires significant financial investment this is not something we will shy away from because sport and leisure are so important to long term health and wellbeing.”

The poor state of Tenby Leisure Centre’s swimming pool has been highlighted frequently in recent years - with fresh calls made to look at its longevity, after it was suggested that it is nearing the end of its operational life.

Those highlighting its poor condition have listed crumbling concrete pillars held together with duct tape, countless missing tiles on the floor, and a leaky roof letting more water in!

County councillor for the wards of St Florence and St Mary Out Liberty [New Hedges] Cllr Rhys Jordan, last year wrote to Pembrokeshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Residents' Services Cllr Sinnett, to ask for an update on the facility, after previously raising concerns about its poor and ‘close to failing’ condition.

“This facility is vital to our community, serving young learners, families, and older residents alike—not just as a place to swim, but as an essential health and wellbeing resource,” said Cllr Jordan at the time.

“The social value of this facility is immeasurable—it keeps our children water-safe, supports active lifestyles, and provides a space for rehabilitation and community engagement.”