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Coffi Vista, better known locally as Caerphilly town’s tourist information centre, is set to close by the end of March, Caerphilly Observer can reveal.

During a meeting with council officials on Thursday January 4, staff were told that an informal decision had been made by Caerphilly County Borough Council’s cabinet and senior bosses in December last year.

The official decision is due to be made at a meeting later this month – meaning there is still time to save the much-loved service and the threatened community art gallery housed downstairs.

The council-owned venue, which opened in April 1995 as the tourist information centre, is a much-loved and popular place for residents and tourists. However, it loses money and is subsidised by the local authority. By how much will be revealed by the council when it publishes its budget report.

The council is facing a £55 million hole in its finances over the next two years and needs to cut that amount to balance the books.

Cabinet will discuss next year’s budget, which includes Coffi Vista’s axe and any potential council tax hikes, at a meeting on January 17. Any decisions made will be subject to a public consultation before a meeting of full council has the final say.

“We are more popular now than we’ve ever been”

Martin Cook started at the centre in 1996 on work experience while studying tourism at Ystrad Mynach College.

Rising to the position of manager in the early 2000s, Martin and his team have kept the centre open in spite of years of previous budget cuts.

Martin explained: “I was charged with making the service more cost-effective and commercial, so around 2011 we introduced a small coffee lounge which within six months grew and became a highly-used service.

“Since then we have taken on more staff and extended our range, but with additional service and doing more, that’s led to our running costs increasing.

“We have thousands of customers coming through the doors every week – it’s wonderful to be part of the community. We are more popular now than we’ve ever been.”

Despite the rebrand to Coffi Vista, the place is still widely referred to as the tourist information centre and visitors still seek information about the town from staff.

Martin, who was very emotional when he spoke to us, added: “It doesn’t feel as if it’s happened. I feel very numb and betrayed. I have invested so much of my effort and personal time, outside of regular working hours, being here seven-days-a-week, above and beyond to make this place a success. Everything we have done has been for the visitors and guests we welcome.”

There is now uncertainty surrounding the future of staff at Coffi Vista. While they were told they would be redeployed within the council, Martin has asked the question how practical that could be, with many working part-time on weekends only.

He said: “I don’t know what the future holds. I chose this career path because I very much enjoy working with the public and visitors because of my pride and excitement at the town and what we have to offer.

“Welsh Government plans and council plans are to enhance tourism, so it feels like a backwards step to close the tourist information centre.

“There’s no foresight, there’s no plan. There has been no consultation, public or with the staff. No doubt that will come in time, but it’s clear the decision has been made – which is not a democratic way of doing things.”

Staff met with the council’s visitor economy and destinations manager Antony Bolter and its regeneration services manager Allan Dallimore on Thursday – who told staff Coffi Vista was “surplus to requirements”.

Questions were asked by staff about the future of the public toilets, with the provision of those in doubt. Staff also said they had not been supported by the council to innovate further in a bid to increase revenue – such as late night opening and other initiatives.

They said they felt they had been set-up to fail.

Y Galeri

The council does not want to sell the building and has already approached commercial estate agents EJ Hales to find a new tenant – and this is key over whether Y Galeri remains downstairs.

Whoever takes over the lease of the building upstairs will have a choice over whether or not to have the whole building. If they decide not to have the downstairs, then Y Galeri could be staying.

The uncertainty has had a profound effect on Y Galeri’s owner Karen Evans, who said she had a sleepless night after being told by the council.

A tearful Karen, who took over the gallery two years ago, said: “I feel sick. I haven’t had any negative feedback whatsoever. I’m a Welsh speaker, I work with local schools and community groups. This is really important for the area.”

Asked if the council had offered her a place at the new container market, Karen said the council had instead offered a place at Llancaiach Fawr or Cwmcarn Visitor Centre.

A spokesman for Caerphilly County Borough Council said: “The council is facing a budget shortfall of around £55 million over the next two years, so it is clear that we will need to make a number of difficult decisions in order to meet this significant financial challenge.

“A list of proposed budget savings will be announced over the coming weeks and these will be subject to a period of public consultation before the 2024/25 budget is agreed at the end of February.

“The council has a duty to protect the public purse and will be looking at a range of savings options, particularly services that are subject to high subsidy, are non-statutory or can be delivered in a different way.

“We would encourage the community to have their say at the appropriate time.”