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Cefn Fforest Miners Institute is ‘not far off’ partially re-opening for the first time in nearly a decade.

The Stute closed its doors in 2016, before residents started a charity four years later with hopes of restoring the building to its former glory.

One of the men leading the charge in its redevelopment is Ian Thomas, who spoke to Caerphilly Observer about the project so far: “It still looks like a building site at the minute because of the weather, but we’re actually not too far away from completing phase one and opening the main hall.

“It’s been a huge effort. There have only been four or five of us core members working on it consistently with a few others joining in now and then. We want to make sure we do a proper job and have it looking as good as it did in the ’30s.”

The group has received more than £150,000 to put towards the restoration, with the bulk of the money coming through a National Lottery grant.

Other donations have come from South Wales Miners’ Trust, Caerphilly County Borough Council, and Morrisons, to name a few.

Mr Thomas continued: “The building was left in a pretty sorry state. We were given quotes of around £250,000 to get it up to scratch but thanks to work from volunteers we’ve saved tens of thousands.”

With phase one nearing completion, the trustees hope to open the main hall and toilets as soon as possible whilst work upstairs continues.

“There are four rooms upstairs which we plan on renting out to businesses. It should be a lot quicker to finish the second phase as most of the core work has been done.”

With its future at the heart of the project, Mr Thomas said how solar panels are set to be installed, and that talks with the community have been held over who would like to rent rooms.

He added: “We’ve had several groups already say they want to use the hall. We’re looking to get a café in the middle floor as well as a reading room.”

The South Wales Miners’ Trust Fund has donated thousands towards the restoration, recently delivering a grant of £5,000.

Its trustees said they were pleased to support a “historic building for the benefit of present and future generations.”

They continued: “We firmly believe that people working together in a strong community with a shared goal and a common purpose can make the impossible possible.”

About the Institute

The Institute opened its doors to the public in 1932 for the benefit of the community, providing facilities for self-education, social welfare and recreation. Paid for out of miners’ wages, it was one of many institutes that served the then-thriving coal industry in the South Wales valleys.

In 1988 it became the club house for Cefn Fforest RFC but has now been closed for the best part of a decade.

Since the demise of the coal industry there are now only 48 out of 200 miners institute buildings left in the whole of Wales.

The charity was set up in 2020 and has been working ever since to bring the building back into public use.