Resolven Miner’s Welfare Hall have been awarded £41,000 towards an extensive Feasibility Study for the Restoration of the Resolven Miners Welfare.
With match funding of their own and from Moondance and UK Community Renewal Fund we are pleased to support the feasibility study to help them understand what is possible for the future of the building. It will provide options for the building’s ongoing restoration and how they best serve the community, also scoping what projects, services and facilities are viable avenues of business to help them sustain the charity.
The Resolven Miners Welfare began in 1924 and is about to celebrate its centenary. The building was constructed and sustained through direct contributions made from Miners’ wages. Following the closure of the mines the building lost its core source of funding and fell into disrepair over many years – a new board of trustees took ownership of the building in December 2017. They have worked hard to keep building open and have tried to resolve issues and raised enough funds to pay for emergency repairs and opened up a small café/ restaurant in one area of the building. This is an exciting opportunity for them to have the information and evidence they need to restore the building for community and wider use for many years to come.
“We are thrilled to announce that we’ve raised the necessary funds to commission a feasibility study for our building. This is a crucial step in our restoration journey as this research will allow us to access larger grants in the future. The study will be conducted by a team of experts from Urban Foundry and will be an in-depth investigation into the building’s potential, helping us discover viable ways to sustain it, so it can best serve our ever-changing community.
We would like to say a massive “THANK YOU” to Pen y Cymoedd, UK Community Renewal Fund and Moondance Foundation for funding our study!
This really does take us one step closer to fulfilling our communities’ dreams of reopening the entire building and giving it the TLC it needs. Well done to the trustees and volunteers of the Resolven Miners’ Welfare who’ve worked so hard to make this happen!” – Resolven Miners Welfare
RESOLVEN RFC have been awarded a Vision Fund grant of £19,893.79 for their project ‘Better Player Offer and Improved All Inclusive Spectator Area’
The PyC funding of £19,893.79 along with £2,000 from local Cllr fund, £2,000 from Ffynon Oer and club’s own funds is being used to:
– provide an external shelter along the length of the club to provide an area where home and away spectators can watch rugby in the dry on a rainy day. This will also provide an additional covered area increasing the external seating capacity of the club. This needs to be accessible and suitable for our disabled visitors, elderly and vulnerable.
– external perimeter fencing
– create outdoor gym area to improve physical fitness of players and members as well as mental wellbeing, exercising safely outdoors in the fresh air.
“Merging as a club has made us much stronger as so many more people using facility ensuring sustainability and shared community use. Like many clubs we used lockdown to assess what we could do to strengthen and improve services at the club, and we talked to all members and users that led to a programme of improvements, some we had already identified and some new that came because of consultation. In the last 12 months we have spent money on a new boiler and heating and new electrics through club, we refurbished the bar and purchased a COVID fogging machine as well as new scrummaging equipment. We approached Pen y Cymoedd as we needed some support to finish the programme of works that will ensure all our outdoor spaces are used effectively, bring added value to facility, and respond to what our community of users need.” – Barry, Resolven RFC
“We were happy to support this application as club have done lots of work already and are committed to improving the facility and bringing match funding to project. This work will result in an enhanced visitor experience and ensures that the space around club is well-used, maintained and serves a purpose.” – Kate Breeze, Pen y Cymoedd Wind Farm Community Fund
£62,416.67 has been awarded to Glynneath Training Centre for O Dan yr Awyr – Under the Sky Phase 2
This project will build on the work that has taken place during the first phase of O Dan yr Awyr and
- increase environmental awareness and education.
- provide opportunities for schools and partners to develop their outdoor spaces.
- provide opportunities for individuals and groups to volunteer and develop skills and networks in the Upper Neath Valley; and
- provide access to locally grown and affordable food produce.
O Dan yr Awyr was originally developed in response to a local emerging need for environmental activities and engagement, and the lack of existing provision available. The project was developed to address climate change, food waste, food poverty and to develop opportunities for local people to increase their awareness and activity. Building on and further developing the work of the project to date through increasing food production, sharing local resources (including open spaces), responding to the rising cost of living and increasing poverty, furthering skills development of local people, will positively impact on the long-term sustainability of the project.
“as a fund we were excited to fund phase 1 of the project over 4 years and acknowledge that pandemic impacted ability to fully deliver and consider what was next for project and so we are pleased to support them for an additional year to allow the project to deliver and give them time to consider what’s next, we wish them lots of luck” – Kate Breeze, Executive Director
We also recently also announced the funding awarded to:
- Resolven AFC £111,442.32 as a grant / loan mix
- Driving Golf at Glynneath – Glynneath Golf Club £110,000
- RESOLVEN BUILDING BLOCKS AND FAMILY CENTRE WITH £63,489.95 GRANT TO DELIVER GROWTH AND MINDSET PROJECT
- £3,232 to Resolven Bowls Club for The Ninety, a 90th Birthday Bowls Tournament
- £428.75 to Pontneddfechan OAPs for activities, tutor and party
- £1,175 to Blaengwrach Community Council for Cwmgwrach Connectivity project
- £5,000 to Pontneddfechan Village Hall
- £1,181 to the newly formed Glynneath Town FC Ladies
- £1,100 to Resolven Community Events Group
- £5,000 to Siop y Ddraig Goch, a Big Bocs Bwyd project at Ynysfach Primary School
- £1,100 to Cilfrew Community Connections
- £3,840 to Darren And Emma’s Breakfast Bar And Grill