Volunteers to transform former Caerphilly miners' institute

Cefn Fforest Miners Institute, built in 1931, used to be the "focal point of the village"

Work is underway to transform a former miners' institute in Caerphilly county back into the jewel of the community.

Cefn Fforest Miners' Institute, built in 1931, used to be the "focal point of the village" but in recent years it succumbed to disrepair.

A charity said a survey estimated repair work would cost £152,000 to get the building "habitable".

It is hoped the building will be used for local groups, concerts and events for the community.

Ron Stoate, who used to work at the local Britannia colliery near Pengam, remembers the 'Stute growing up in the 50s and 60s and said he wants others to feel "the community spirit that we had when we were younger".

Former miner Ron Stoate remembers the institute as a strictly-run place

Highlights in the past included an evening with singer Gerry Munroe, a former winner of 1970s talent show Opportunity Knocks, as well as professional snooker players giving exhibition matches on one of venue's eight tables.

Mr Stoate said: "I remember Rex Williams coming here, I think he was world champion."

"Playing here, doing all sorts of trick shots. The place would be full, packed - just watching him.

"It was amazing - it used to be the focal point of the community. It's sad to see it in the decline it is in."

Mr Stoate added that back when he was growing up, it was "pretty strictly run".

"There was long mats running in different directions. Woe betide you if you stepped off them mats onto the oak floor."

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A recent survey estimated repair work would cost £152,000 to get the building "habitable"

Miners' institutes and welfare halls were found in many communities across the south Wales valleys and were built with contributions from local miners' wages.

The 'Stute in Cefn Fforest became a rugby club in the 1980s but has been empty since it went under around five years ago.

In 2018, when people went back into the building for a documentary, they found an abandoned and eerie scene; glasses still sitting in the dishwasher and cobwebs everywhere.

Clare Potter was one of the first people to go back inside Cefn Fforest Miners' Institute

Poet and film maker Clare Potter, who was one of the first people to go back into the building, said there was considerable damage.

"There was glass on the floor, there'd been vandalism, a lot of the windows had been boarded up," she said.

"But you got a sense that the building itself was still solid. It wasn't too late."

The building has several windows are boarded, a leaking roof and has been vandalised

Since then, a dedicated team of volunteers have been working to secure the lease of the building and are now thinking about restoration work.

They've also been gutting and clearing the building for the last few months, helped by local teenagers.

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Teenagers Evan Jones and Luc Jones volunteered to help out

Evan Jones, 14, who volunteered to scrape paint off what were kitchen walls with his friend Luc Jones, said they "wanted to help out".

"We all play football down in the arena and we seen people back and fore. We wanted to help out."

"Instead of it being dark and cold in the winter, it'll be somewhere to go and warm up, instead of walking around the streets" he said.

Volunteers hope the building will once again be used by the community

The road to full restoration is likely to be long but the vision is that the building will once more become the heart of Cefn Fforest.

Clint Evans, trustee of the Cefn Fforest Miners' Welfare Hall charity, said the group is "doing everything".

"We're in discussions with a number of trusts. Anywhere there is money we are going looking for it, we are going to need a lot of it."