Rhydycar West - A World Class Sport and Leisure Resort in South Wales

A Proposed World Class Sport & Leisure Resort

Based in the heart of South Wales Valleys

The Rhydycar West development proposal seeks to create a world class leisure resort in Wales – for all year round.

It will be an outstanding and internationally recognised, sports, leisure and tourism destination able to offer a unique experience to the people of South Wales, the UK as a whole as well as international visitors. The resort is anchored around key elements including the UK’s longest Indoor Snow Centre, a Tropical Waterpark, an Indoor and Outdoor Adventure Centre, plus a range of Hotel offerings and Woodland Lodges.

Indoor snow sports are one of the anchor attractions at Rhydycar West. It will host the Welsh & UK training headquarters, creating a National Centre of Excellence for snow sports as well as offering world class recreational facilities. The resort will be home to a wide variety of indoor and outdoor pursuits including an indoor Waterpark and Indoor & Outdoor Activity Centres. These facilities will be supported by a wide range of associated accommodation from the Luxury Spa and the Sport and Value hotel wings to the Woodland Lodges – to cater for the long and short stay visitor.

The resort will also complement and enhance the existing sport, leisure and tourism offer currently thriving in the South Wales Valleys and Brecon Beacons such as BikePark Wales and Zip World. Ideally situated and extremely well connected the development will strengthen Merthyr Tydﬁl’s regeneration and position as both a destination of choice in its own right and the gateway to the Brecon Beacons.

The proposal is the carefully considered outcome of a period of several years of engagement and understanding of the local and regional economy, ecology, history and heritage. The site will be the home and national training headquarters for the Welsh and UK national, Olympic and Paralympic teams. The national governing body for Snowsports in Wales, Snowsport Cymru Wales have campaigned for this facility for nearly a decade, GB Snowsport are also campaigning for this development. The indoor snow centre will conform to International Ski Federation (FIS) and international standards.

The leisure resort development accords well with the Local Development Plan, Future Wales: The National Plan 2040 and Planning Policy Wales. Legislative requirements of the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015, the Socio-economic Duty in force in Wales by virtue of the Equality Act 2010, and the s28G duty under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 are met.

Anchor Elements of the Development

When fully operational, the resort will be a UK premier destination and a basecamp for the region facilitating longer stays, providing much-needed quality accommodation, and acting as a catalyst for new local and regional economic opportunities and job creation.

The development will offer a year-round destination for holiday visitors, while supporting the emergence of Wales and the Valleys as the epicentre of adventure and activity-led tourism in the UK.

The topography of the site and its transport connectivity make this an ideal location at the Heads of the Valleys for a strategic, transformational development. The world-class Snow Centre, the largest facility of its kind in the UK, elevates the development to one of national significance in both Welsh and UK terms.
The combined development elements of the Indoor Snow Centre, the accommodation, the Waterpark, and the Indoor and Outdoor Adventure Centre will drive economic growth by attracting visitors who will also support local businesses and attractions.

An FIS (International Ski Federation) specification Indoor Snow Centre, featuring the longest multiple pistes in the UK and among the largest in the world, will provide world-class facilities – from complete beginners to elite athletes and will host both UK and international competitions.