Fears for the future of Cwmaman Day Centre were raised at a meeting held by residents and councillors last Friday, November 11.

The meeting was held at Ysgol y Bedol, and was attended by Cllr Kevin Madge and MP Jonathan Edwards, along with around 30 members of the public.

Cllr Madge said: “The centre is open three days a week, when it could be open for five, and house double the amount of people.

“I fear for the future and for the people of my ward.

"The day centre is a place where the elderly people of the area can socialise, be heated, have a bath, get their nails done and be fed as we come out of the pandemic.

“They are not going to get that care anywhere else. They cannot go all the way to Ammanford Library, where they still won’t receive the same treatment.

“It’s the people of my ward in need, and that is what is making me angry.”

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Cllr. Jane Tremlett, Cabinet Member for Social Services at Carmarthenshire County Council said: “Although the Cwmaman day centre usage has not fully recovered since the pandemic, it is slowly increasing. This follows a county-wide post-Covid pattern.

“It’s currently used three days a week, and that could well increase over the winter months if the demand increases.

“Day centre users are individuals who’ve been assessed as needing day centre support.

"I would urge Cllr Kevin Madge, and indeed anyone else who’s aware of people in their area who they feel might benefit by attending a day centre, to refer those names to the council so that their needs can be assessed.”

Cllr. Alun Lenny, Cabinet Member for Resources, added: “In addition to providing day centre services, the council is also offering grants to community groups to provide ‘warm welcome’ locations as part of our cost-of-living strategy.

“It might be worth Cllr Madge engaging with community groups in his area with a view to applying for funding to provide these warm welcome places. The lively Cwmaman Community Centre would seem to be an obvious candidate for such provision.

“I’m aware that we’ve already received over 80 grant applications from many parts of Carmarthenshire to enable the setting up of warm welcome places.”