‘Concern’ over funding for some of borough’s major cultural sites

A senior councillor has warned that all options are on the table when it comes to turning around Caerphilly County Borough Council’s finances.

It means questions remain over funding for major cultural or heritage sites such as Llancaiach Fawr and Blackwood Miners’ Institute.

At a council meeting on Wednesday July 24, Eluned Stenner, the cabinet member for finance, said the council is facing an “extremely challenging financial position”.

The council said it is facing up to the prospect of finding another £45 million in savings over the next two years if it is to deliver balanced budgets – after already making £56m in savings this year.

Given the extent of the financial pressures, independent councillor Kevin Etheridge asked whether the council was committed to tourist sites such as Tudor manor house Llancaiach Fawr and performing arts centre Blackwood Miners’ Institute.

He told the council meeting the two sites “must be safeguarded”.

“Will these assets be kept?” he asked Cllr Stenner. “Staff may be worried about their futures.”

A budget report from January 2024 shows the council estimated it would spend £499,000 running Llancaiach Fawr and £330,000 running Blackwood Miners’ Institute last year.

Cllr Stenner told the meeting she acknowledged the two sites were “very close to people’s hearts”.

“But the financial challenge going forward is huge,” she added. “We are looking at everything. We will be reviewing everything, including our tourist destinations.”

Following the meeting, Cllr Etheridge said he was “concerned about this, as we must safeguard these valuable assets for our county borough and the staff”.

Caerphilly Council managed to address a £56m budget shortfall earlier this year through an increase in central government funding, the one-off use of reserves, and a council tax increase.

But the bulk of its work came through making nearly £20m of permanent savings and £11m of temporary savings, including the closure of Coffi Vista in Caerphilly town centre and the proposed mothballing of the Winding House Museum in New Tredegar.

The council has also launched a strategy, Mobilising Team Caerphilly, designed to cut costs and streamline services.

During the recent meeting, council leader Sean Morgan said the strategy had already started to bear fruit.

The council was “becoming more agile in the way it operates” and “meeting the needs of our residents, rather than our wants”, added Cllr Morgan.