Date: January 27, 2023

Grŵp Llandrillo Menai has unveiled its first Net-Zero carbon building – a brand new state-of-the-art sports centre – funded in partnership with the Welsh Government.

The brand new ‘Canolfan Chwaraeon’ based at Coleg Menai’s campus in Llangefni, was officially opened yesterday (Thursday, January 26th) by the Welsh Government’s Education and Welsh Language Minister, Jeremy Miles MS.

At the official opening, attended by special guest rugby union player Shane Williams, partner organisations were given a tour of the centre, and saw first hand how learners were already benefiting from the impressive facilities.

‘Canolfan Chwaraeon’ is backed with £8 million of funding from the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme, which aims to transform the learning experience of learners, ensuring they are taught in classrooms with the technologies and facilities needed to support the delivery of the Curriculum for Wales.

The centre, built by North Wales company Read Construction on time and to budget, includes a brand new sports hall, large gym and studio, changing facilities, 7 classrooms, laboratories and staff rooms.

Having been designed and built with sustainability in mind, ‘Canolfan Chwaraeon’ has been formally certified ‘BREEAM Excellent’ – ranking it among the top 10% of buildings in the UK for environmental performance.

The centre features a long list of sustainable elements, including photovoltaic panels on the building and remote areas, providing an impressive 343kWp.

As a result, the new centre is the very first Net-Zero Carbon building to be constructed by the Grŵp – meeting the very latest Welsh Government sustainability guidelines and requirements.

The new facility is home to the latest cutting-edge technology and equipment for monitoring sporting performance and excellence, including wattbikes, Seca machines to provide medical grade full body composition analysis, and a specialist treadmill featuring a douglas bag gas analysis system to assess Vo2max.

Jeremy Miles, Welsh Government Minister for Education and the Welsh language, said,

“I was so pleased to see in person the fantastic new Canolfan Chwaraeon at Llangefni, supported by Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities For Learning Programme.

I am committed to making Wales a ‘second chance’ nation, a place where everyone can reach their potential.  Facilities such as these in Llangefni will be key to supporting this ambition for learners in Wales.

So I also hope to see the aspirations here at Llangefni extend beyond our young learners to allow all of the community access to a lifelong learning offer.”

Alex Read, Director of Read Construction, explained,

“Read were proud to work with the college to deliver this state of the art, carbon considered development. The collaborative delivery of this prestigious project resulted in a building that has achieved EPC A+, reinvestment of the Welsh pound through the engagement of local companies, and supported the future generation.”

Dafydd Evans, Chief Executive at Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, said,

“The completion of Coleg Menai’s new Canolfan Chwaraeon is another major step forward in the Grŵp’s ambitious estates strategy. The centre will produce skilled young people for the Sports and Public Services industries, such as the Police and Fire Service.

Students from across the campus will also be able to benefit from the resources through the use of the new Gym facilities; a critical part of our learner wellbeing strategy”.

More about the scheme: GLLM Sports Science Facility