The Play Barn at Brynich is set to close after 19 years of operation.

The award-winning indoor soft play area on the edge of Brecon has been enjoyed by multiple generations of children over the pas two decades.

The team has had to adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic and reassess the future of Brynich, aiming to build on the rehearsal space that has hosted local choirs and groups over lockdown.

In a statement on their website, the team at Brynich, Catherine, Mark and Becca, said: “We started as the first indoor Play Centre in Powys and have enjoyed watching our business grow and change over the years. In that time, we have seen children grow up, become parents themselves and return with their own children. In some cases, regular little visitors later became staff members. We have seen so much change and it has been a real honour to provide the local community with such a great place to spend time.

“Like any successful business, the ability to adapt to changing circumstances is vital. At Brynich we have had to do that more than once over the years, and the time has come for us to move with the times once again. Covid-19 has hit many small businesses incredibly hard, and we have been no exception to that. It has forced us to look at what we have and how we see the future of Brynich evolving.

“During lockdown we were lucky enough to provide outdoor rehearsal space for some fabulous local choirs and bands. We aim to build on this area, providing indoor and outdoor space for rehearsals throughout the year. We also want to offer more self-employed fitness instructors’ space to run yoga and Pilates classes, offer more meeting spaces for businesses, and host craft fairs and other events. Dipping our toe into these new areas has been a great experience during a difficult year and we want to build on that now.”

The extremely successful wedding and meeting venue Barn at Brynich has been running for over 12 years, and the team have said that the time now feels right to develop that area of the business.

The Play Barn will be closed with immediate effect and the building will be repurposed.

The space will form part of the The Barn function venue, which will allow greater indoor space for a range of activities, including weddings.

Explaing their plans, the team said: “Over the next few months, we shall be removing the play equipment from the building. The equipment is in excellent condition, so if there are any local entrepreneurs out there who would be interested in buying it and giving our faithful old slide a new lease of life, we would love to hear from you.

“We would like to thank our incredible, hardworking, loyal staff. We are pleased to be able retain all our staff within the business. A huge thank you also to all our Play Barn customers for their amazing support over the years, you’ve been amazing! Thank you!”