A new centre for paddlers on the Teifi Valley has been officially opened.

MP for Ceredigion, Ben Lake, and MP for Carmarthen East, Jonathan Edwards, joined Llandysul Paddlers members, staff and the local community to celebrate the completion of the ‘Blue Shed Project’ – an initiative which has seen a derelict building once the home of a fish and chip shop transformed into a state-of-the-art facility, almost a year since flooding affected the village.

The club decided to create a new building to meet the needs of its members and staff in a location that would mean its young canoeists would no longer have to cross a busy road whilst on-site.

And devastating flooding to the Paddlers’ original clubhouse in October 2018 also made the need for a new facility even greater.

The club was able to make the project a reality thanks to £60,000 of funding from Statkraft through the Alltwalis Community Benefit Fund, which helped them to also access £160,000 from the Welsh Government’s Rural Development Programme.

The MPs were given a tour of the building, which features solar panels, accessible changing facilities and a new reception area.

In addition, the building houses meeting rooms with computers and wifi for community use and space to host seminars on topics such as water safety.

Mr Lake said: “As someone who grew up close to the River Teifi, it is really important to me that we have facilities in the community that offer people of all ages the opportunity to get active and enjoy the beautiful outdoors this part of Wales has to offer.”

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