The Leader announced that he was aware that rumours are circulating about the Aldi food store development at Porthcawl, with some claiming that the company has withdrawn due to issues of ground contamination.

He was happy to confirm that this is completely untrue.

There are no issues with the ground at the site, and the project is very much moving ahead as planned.

The company recently confirmed to us that initial preparations are nearing completion, and that contractors are being lined up for construction to begin at the two-acre site.

As members were aware, the development aims to provide a landmark gateway into the town while creating up to 40 full-time jobs for local people.

All money generated from the sale of the land is being reinvested back into Porthcawl to support local infrastructure improvements and further stages of the exciting regeneration plans.

During the store’s construction, public car parking will remain available at Salt Lake and Hillsboro Place, and separate plans are under development for creating an all-new multi storey at Hillsboro Place.

If all proceeds as planned, we can expect to see the new Aldi store opening its doors in summer 2023.

The Leader confirmed that he was pleased to attend an event recently alongside the Deputy Leader, the Mayor and Cabinet colleagues to mark the tenth anniversary of the ongoing partnership between the council and Halo Leisure, Social Enterprise.

When the partnership was first formed back in 2012, members may remember that it was criticised as being destined to fail.

Thankfully, the opposite has proven to be true, and in the ten years of operation, customer visits have increased by 2.35 million people a year.

It has enabled more than £7 million to be invested back into local initiatives and has resulted in major refurbishments and new facilities being introduced at Halo sites in Bridgend, the Garw Valley, the Ogmore Valley, Pencoed, Pyle, Maesteg and Ynysawdre.

More than 32,900 swimming lessons have been delivered to 2.1 million local children in that time, and if the pandemic lockdown had not forced centres to close their doors, I am sure that we would also be looking at more than a million group exercise classes delivered for local people.

This partnership has achieved all that we wanted it to and more and was recognised in 2016 when it became the first in Wales to be awarded an ‘Excellent’ rating by the industry’s national benchmarking service.

The Leader stated that he looked forward to what the next ten years will bring, and thanked everyone who has helped make this such a resounding success.

Finally, members may wish to inform their constituents that the annual programme of activities for children – the Summer of Fun - will be running again this year in partnership with organisations like Halo and our local town and community councils.

As well as supporting parents and families, this ensures that children and young people can enjoy fun, exciting activities during the school holidays in Bridgend County Borough.

A huge range of community activities are taking place, so whether children are into BMX biking, football or want to try out surfing and bushcraft, there is something to suit everyone, he added.

The programme of events included Active 4 Life schemes in Porthcawl, Brackla, Maesteg and Pencoed, and the popular Summer Reading Challenge which is being provided by Awen Cultural Trust at all Arwen County Libraries.

Halo Leisure is providing activities such as free swimming sessions and for the first time, a new Kid’s Club will be staging free events using the square at Bridgend Indoor Market.

At Bryngarw Country Park, children will be able to enjoy activities ranging from pond dipping to shows such as David Walliams ‘Awful Auntie’, and organisations such as Menter Bro Ogwr and The Urdd will provide activities for Welsh-speaking children also.

New activities are being added all the time, and anyone who wants to find out more should be directed to the Summer of Fun webpages at www.bridgend.gov.uk