Nearly £2m Welsh Government funding brings new life to community spaces

Case Studies

Clwb Y Bont, Pontypridd, Rhondda Cynon Taff, has been awarded £101,000 towards the £123,000 cost of rebuilding the Club, following the flooding in the area in 2020. 

Clwb y Bont is a community-owned beneficial society, which opened its doors to the community in 1983. It has played an important part in Pontypridd life ever since, nurturing Welsh cultural talent and the Welsh language, and providing an inclusive gathering space for the whole community.

Geraint Day, Chair of Clwb y Bont, said:

“Clwb y Bont has been a community hub for the promotion of the Welsh language and culture in Pontypridd and the Rhondda valleys for many years. We’ve supported many up and coming bands and musical groups, community choirs, comedians and arts groups, as well as hosting reading groups, social events and Welsh language classes for adults and young people.

“Sadly, Storm Dennis caused massive damage to the 150 year old building. Our riverside location gives lovely views onto the Pontypridd Lido, but unfortunately when the river flooded, so did we. The hall ended up under 6 or 7 foot of mud and water.

“We’re still closed, and the structure needs major investment.

“This Welsh Government Community Facilities Grant Funding is giving us the opportunity to re-create a comfortable, welcoming space for people of all ages to enjoy music and cultural activities of all sorts, from jazz, to classical music, rock music, sports, Welsh language events, and social events.

“Pre-flooding, Clwb y Bont provided an opportunity to showcase creativity and culture of all types. Young local rock bands held public jamming sessions, and used our hall for practices. A regular event on Friday evenings saw a singalong session in the main bar, with music from the 60s onwards. We nurtured new Welsh comedians at our regular comedy club nights.

“Welsh music acts played sets, adults enjoyed Welsh lessons, our Clwb Siarad was an opportunity for Welsh learners to chat socially with fluent Welsh speakers, and we even had a pool team. We held regular quiz nights in our family-friendly public bar, and cheered on our team in Six Nations matches.”

Clwb y Bont will use the £101,000 Welsh Government funding to renovate and update the building, and improve the facilities on offer to the community.

Geraint continued:

“A new disabled toilet will improve accessibility to the whole community, while a new staircase will open up two brand new upstairs rooms. One room will offer a space for formal meetings and Welsh language lessons in a modern classroom-type environment, which can also be used for music practice. The other room overlooks the river, with beautiful views of the Lido.

“We can’t wait to welcome the community back through our doors. We want to thank the Welsh Government for giving us the opportunity to once again promote performances by local artists, Welsh lessons and cultural activities, and a friendly space for the whole community, here in Pontypridd.”

Geraint Day is available for interview. Please call 07769 657122 or email Geraint.day@gmail.com.

Photos - link here: https://we.tl/t-4Dao4GsWzc 

Community Facilities – Clwb y Bont – logo

Community Facilities – Clwb y Bont - flooding

Community Facilities – Clwb y Bont – Flood fundraiser

Community Facilities – Clwb y Bont – After the floods

Community Facilities – Clwb y Bont – Danielle Lewis performing

Community Facilities – Clwb y Bont – what (was) on

News:

In November 2020, Boom Cymru production company chose Clwb y Bont to feature in their Prosiect Pum Mil programme – more here: https://www.facebook.com/clwbybont/posts/1593927267480593?__tn__=-R

Videos:

https://www.facebook.com/menterrhondda.cynontaf/videos/3534231950027311/UzpfSTMxMzI4NTk1ODg3ODA3MDoxNjE4NzQ3OTk4MzMxODUz/ - Welsh language video of performers speaking about their experiences of Clwb y Bont.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p78jlUGtLBA – Clwb y Bont flooding

 

Llanbister Community Hall, Powys has been awarded £160,000 towards the £180,000 cost of refurbishing and extending their existing community hall. 

Llanbister is a small village of around 300 people in rural Powys, predominantly a farming community with a mix of older people and young families with new babies and young children.

Llanbister Community Hall is a community-owned facility which hosts multiple local services. Key partners include MIND, Powys County Council, Young Farmers Club, Llanbister School and Llanbister Ti a Fi, the Women’s Institute, and local sports and community groups.

Joni Hughes, secretary of Llanbister Community Hall committee, said:

“Llanbister Community Hall provides all sorts of services to the local community. With the nearest town in Llandrindod around 20 minutes’ drive away, people don’t want to, or can’t, travel.

“This is a rural farming community, with specific needs. The Community Hall serves the whole spectrum of local society, and for many residents provides the only social outlet. Mind provides rural counselling services in the Community Hall, while the very successful community catch-up club brings old and young together and combats the loneliness and isolation which many people would otherwise experience.

“The Welsh Government Community Facilities Grant Funding will enable us to refurbish and extend the existing Hall. We’re creating a meeting room/ hub area, as well as a brand new catering kitchen and bar in the main hall.

“The Hall is always booked up. This new space will mean that we can host so many more events for the community. We’ve invested in a lot of sporting and fitness equipment. A local instructor runs regular fitness session. The school uses the hall for PE lessons and netball clubs, while our older community uses our artificial bowling green inside the hall.

“We’re a very close-knit community, and this grant will make a huge difference to us all. We are so grateful – we can’t wait to get going.”

Tracy Lewis, Chairman of the Community Hall and a local community councillor, said:

"I'm delighted that Welsh Government have supported the community hub. Its going to be excellent that we have extra provision to provide vital community services, and will now have the ability to work even closer with our key partners and community groups. Its a real boost for the community in difficult times."

Contact Joni Hughes, Llanbister Community Hall for interviews: 07508 048681 or email joni.hughes@hotmail.co.uk.

Photo – Community Facilities – Llanbister Community Hall - link here: https://we.tl/t-QPcVlAk8Tv 

 

Llansaint Welfare Hall, Carmarthenshire was awarded an additional £35,000 towards the total cost of £120,000 to extend and refurbish the welfare hall. 

Llansaint is a small village in a rural community with few services. The Welfare Hall is community-owned, with a small play area and large field.

“There is a village pub”, says Arfon Davies, Chair of the Welfare Hall committee, “but no post office, and the local school has closed.

“The Welfare Hall is the centre of the community. We host a monthly bingo night, a quiz night four times a year, a Christmas party, Easter Egg hunt and Halloween party, and every summer we put on ‘the Best Little Carnival in Wales’.

“Our bingo nights are sometimes the only thing that brings people out of the house. The Hall brings the whole community together, and makes a massive difference to people’s lives. All ages benefit – from the youngest children to the oldest in the village, who is 96.”

The funding will be used to demolish an old toilet block at the back of the Hall, to replace it with an extension housing a brand new kitchen and meeting room, and to upgrade the heating and electrical system.

Arfon continued:

“This Welsh Government funding will transform the Welfare Hall into a community facility which will benefit everyone in the village. Residents are over the moon.

“The extension will mean that meetings of the Camera Club, Women’s Institute and Gardening Club can be held in a smaller, more welcoming space, and that we can cook more than hot dogs.

“We’re a very close-knit community – throughout the Covid pandemic, we’ve been keeping an eye on each other, people have been doing each other’s shopping and making sure that no-one is ever left isolated, but we can’t wait to get the renovation work started, and to re-open the Hall.

“As soon as we’re able, we are planning a massive celebration for the whole community – and we would love the Deputy Minister and Chief Whip, Jane Hutt, to come and join us, to see what a difference this funding has made to us. We want to say thank you to all involved for their support.”

Arfon Davies, Chair of Llansaint Welfare Hall committee, is available for interview. Please contact 01267 267647, or email arfondavies@btinternet.com.

Photos - link here: https://we.tl/t-VibJ7uwev3 

Community Facilities - Llansaint Welfare Hall - architect drawing - English

Community Facilities - Llansaint Welfare Hall - architect drawing - Welsh

Community Facilities - Llansaint Welfare Hall - Christmas party

Community Facilities - Llansaint Welfare Hall 

 

Advance Brighter Futures, Wrexham has been awarded £145,818 towards the total cost of £160,361 to enhance and extend its current premises; providing additional one-to-one rooms and a fully-accessible toilet, refit kitchen facility, install enhanced level 4 certified fire alarm system and create visitor parking. 

Advance Brighter Futures is a small mental health charity in Wrexham, housed in its own premises since 2000. The charity supports over 700 people in and around Wrexham and Flintshire each year, with up to 100 people accessing the community building every week (pre-pandemic).

Chief Officer Lorrisa Roberts said:

“The demand for mental health support has been increasing throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and we’re expecting this to continue. Before lockdown, people would come to the building, and we’d have no appropriate one-to-one facilities available to support them. We were running out of space and had to use unsuitable rooms to meet with people seeking support.

“Obviously, that wasn’t acceptable. Quality support is central to everything. The welcome people get, and the atmosphere we create for people who need help and support, makes a huge difference. Our building doesn’t reflect the standard that people deserve, nor the environment we want to create. A poor environment contributes to the negativity that people feel when in distress or crisis.

“This Community Grant Funding will make a huge difference to the service and support we’re able to provide. We hope the completion of the work will coincide with us being able to fully resume all our face-to-face support. We’ve worked with an architect to design the very best use of space.

“We’re converting a conservatory into a two-storey extension, housing three one-to-one therapy rooms. This was previously our main accessible one-to-one meeting room, but the weather was a big constraint: when the weather was bad, we couldn’t use it due to the rain hammering on the roof; in summer, it was too hot, and in winter, it was too cold.

“We’ll also use funding to upgrade our very dated kitchen and bathroom, and to create a visitor car park.

“Small charities make a huge difference to local communities, reaching people that sometimes mainstream services don’t reach. The distance between decision makers and the people who need services, is very small. Community organisations are active in local community events, and local people direct their neighbours to small local charities, like us.

“This conversion will make a huge difference to us and to the individuals we support. As a small charity, individuals are important to us. Now we’ll be able to create people-friendly premises to match the people-centred, quality mental health support we deliver.”

Contact Lorrisa Roberts, Chief Officer of Advance Brighter Futures, for interviews - 01978 364777 or email manager@abfwxm.co.uk.

 

Photos - link here: https://we.tl/t-IwYafUd4Re 

Community Facilities - Advance Brighter Futures 

Community Facilities - Advance Brighter Futures - logo

Video:

Advance Brighter Futures - What's on March - https://www.facebook.com/AdvanceBrighterFutures/videos/2202513156555036/?__so__=channel_tab&__rv__=all_videos_card