Muni arts centre to get new lease of life after closure

Muni arts centre in Pontypridd was converted from a church and is a listed building

The Muni arts centre in Pontypridd is set to get a new lease of life after it closed in October.

Rhondda Cynon Taf council confirmed its cabinet approved recommendations to grant a lease to a community group bid.

The decision will see the facility maintained as a centre for community arts and culture, the council said.

The authority announced in May the doors would close as part of measures to save £70m over four years.

The successful applicant group includes Pontypridd Town Council, the Artis Community group based in Pontypridd, the Coalfields Regeneration Trust and Cylch Cymraeg.

The town's MP Owen Smith said: "I'm confident that over the coming months concrete plans will be put in place to get the Muni up and running in the new year.

"It's already clear that, at its heart, there will be a continued concentration on music, dance, theatre, the arts and on young people in our community."

'Back to the future'

Speaking to BBC Wales's Jason Mohammad, Mr Smith said the arts centre is hoping for a January "reopening date for the community", and that "some of the money will come from grant funding".

He added: "These are changing times. We're going back to the future, whereby responsibility for running services are falling more to communities as councils can't afford to pay for everything.

"We do need to take a greater responsibility as individuals, and people are eager to do it."