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A bookmakers, a police station and a chemist. Number 43 Atlee Court on Caerphilly’s Lansbury Park estate has had many guises over the years.

Today, it is the home of Caerphilly Uniform Exchange – a deceptively named organisation which offers much, much, more to the communities it serves.

Started by Lisa Watkins in her dining room last year, the community interest company moved into its shop in January – enabling it to offer more services to people.

Run by Lisa and a core group of six volunteers, the space offers somewhere for people to go to connect with others and learn new skills.

As you walk in, an array of brightly-coloured cotton reels are lined up along the walls above the many sewing machines. There is also a large table for people to gather around.

Regular sewing machine and textile craft lessons are held there – open for all.

Lisa explained: “The downstairs has become a real workspace where we make lovely things out of old textiles. The aim is helping to save families money but also save textiles going to landfill.”

The mum-of-two started the exchange to help parents with the ever-increasing cost of school uniforms. Since opening the shop, Caerphilly Uniform Exchange has helped more than 200 families.

Lisa said the costs associated with new school uniform, including branded PE kits, can be expensive, with the impact felt by working families.

Add in school events such as World Book Day, Children in Need and Proms, and costs can soon begin to mount up.

The exchange offers parents a solution to this.

The actual uniform exchange, and its mountain of coat hangers, is housed on the first and second floors.

Volunteer Emma Dennel helps organise the uniform exchange and said she wanted to give back after going through a period of homelessness.

She said: “I moved to Barry in October 2019 and I then became homeless. I went through living in a hotel, then a hostel to temporary housing, and finally got my house [in Caerphilly] two years ago.

“Volunteering helps my mental health and gets me out of the house. It gives me structure, and it gives me pride and pleasure knowing we help people.

“We recently helped a family who had a house fire and they had nothing.”

Donations of school uniforms, prom outfits, and children’s clothes are welcome. The donated items get sorted and anyone in need of something can come along and choose – for a small contribution.

Clothes that have perhaps seen better days aren’t wasted though, and go downstairs to be transformed into other items – such as a reversible bag.

On the day Caerphilly Observer visited, volunteer Fay Richards was showing off such a bag she had made under the expert guidance of colleague Leanne Novakovich-Holmes.

Leanne makes all of her own clothes, so knows a thing or two about textiles.

She said: “I love it here. I’m an old-fashioned make-do-and-mend type.

“Everyone is struggling at the moment – times are hard. If someone has a tear in their clothes, I can show how they can repair them or upcycle them into something new using the sewing machines.

“I want to teach people how to make things for themselves.”

Fay had not used a sewing machine since school, but found her skills improving with help from Leanne.

She said: “You get your confidence back here and make loads of new friends.”

If sewing is not your thing, then a regular crochet club is also held by Lesley Rees.

But it’s not all just about clothing. Vicky Jones spoke about the importance of Caerphilly Uniform Exchange as a place to help people suffering from poor mental health.

She said: “We just want to show this area is the place to be. We want to encourage more people into here and the Van Community Centre. There is stuff going on all the time.”

Sharon Harris, who attends the exchange, volunteers with the National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) and is also a councillor on Van Community Council.

She said: “If you’ve got an issue, say with social services, or you feel overloaded, we can signpost. If you want quick advice, we’ve got access to this. It’s a quick and easy route to get the right advice

“What we are very good at is if you are having a bad day, there is someone always here to talk and listen. We are never judgemental when you walk through the door – it’s important for people to feel comfortable when they come in. This is a real safe space for people.”

The efforts of Lisa and her volunteers to help the community have not gone unnoticed, with a recent mention in the Senedd from First Minister Mark Drakeford.

Responding to a question from Caerphilly Senedd Member Hefin David, the First Minister praised the voluntary effort.

He said: “The fact that it focuses on recycling school uniforms, both for the cost involved and also because we know that, environmentally, it is far better to be able to reuse and recycle than to buy new each time, is a fantastic service that is being afforded to residents.”

The Welsh Government recently held a consultation on the cost of uniforms. Under new statutory guidance issued, schools must now consider the financial impact any changes to uniforms might have on families.

The Welsh Government currently offers a School Essentials Grant with up to £300 available to eligible families to help purchase school uniform and equipment.

• Visit Facebook.com/uniformexchangecic or email Caerphillyuniformexchange@gmail.com to find out more.