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Katherine Hughes, the driving force behind Caerphilly Miners Centre, is stepping down as its chair in September.

The vibrant community space on Watford Road, which is also home to Caerphilly Observer, was borne out of efforts to save the original Beeches building of the old Caerphilly Miners Hospital.

In 1917, miners from in and around Caerphilly decided to put one penny each week towards the creation of a new hospital. When they had enough money in 1919, a hospital with 32 beds was created and Caerphilly Miners’ admitted its first patient in 1923.

The hospital was closed in 2011 with services transferred to Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr and its buildings demolished to make way for a housing development.

Under the original plans, the historic Beeches building which the miners bought, was also threatened – until Katherine stepped in.

Speaking to Caerphilly Observer in 2020, to mark the centre’s fifth anniversary, Katherine said it would have been “a travesty” if the hospital’s original building disappeared.

She said: “Many people were born here and had family born here. It’s an iconic building.”

By 2008, a group was set up with the aim of preserving the hospital for community use.

The group had around ten members, including the then-Assembly Member for Caerphilly, and former Police and Crime Commissioner for Gwent Jeff Cuthbert (who is now a trustee of the charity behind the centre).

Katherine, who is 75, agreed to be the secretary of the group and went on to become the charity’s chair.

The council’s Local Development Plan at the time suggested the hospital site would be used just for housing, but Katherine commissioned Planning Aid Wales to challenge this.

In 2010, a “real milestone” was reached when the council said it wouldn’t challenge plans to maintain part of the hospital site for use as a community centre.

From that point, regular coffee mornings were held in Caerphilly, with around 60 people attending each time to share their ideas for the proposed community centre.

The following year, Caerphilly-based United Welsh housing association, which built the housing on the former hospital site, signed an agreement to keep the Beeches building intact.

After more than a million pounds was raised through grants and donations, the centre opened its doors for community use in 2015.

The building is now at the heart of its community with a wide range of groups using it for activities – from chair exercise classes for older people through to after school clubs for children – a “living and breathing” building as Katherine puts it.

But like all living things, it needs to be looked after and cared for.

Katherine explained: “We need someone who can shadow me for a few months and take over. They need to have a vision, be forward-looking, and see the opportunities and threats to the organisation’s future.

“Being able to listen to what other people have to say and make sure it reflects the needs of the overall community.”

Despite the initial achievement of saving and transforming the building, Katherine admitted that the past ten years have not been without challenges.

She said: “The thing that’s been worrying me for the past ten years is what will happen if I just dropped down?

“The Miners has to be something for the future. People just think it’s going to be alright – and I hope it will be – but I’m not going to be here forever.

“I’m certainly not going to be running away from the organisation – but it is time for me to take a step away.”

Despite being born and brought up in London, Katherine has called Caerphilly her home since 1971. Her daughters, Vicky and Kate, were both born in the Miners’.

Having spent two years living near Washington DC as a teenager, Katherine moved back to London before going on to study economics at the University of East Anglia.

She then moved to Cardiff to do a Masters in town planning. Here, Katherine “fell in love” with south Wales.

Over the course of her working career, Katherine worked with community and voluntary groups as a consultant, worked in local government, with charities and at a university.

She also spent 17 years working with the Welsh Consumer Council before setting up her own business in 1994.

While self-employed, Katherine worked from home, an experience she described as “isolating”.

To beat this sense of isolation, Katherine joined various committees, housing association boards and volunteering committees.

The experiences gained during her working life meant Katherine was well equipped for the journey she took with the Miners.

And Katherine’s dedication and commitment over the years hasn’t gone unnoticed.

In 2015, Katherine was awarded a British Empire Medal for her services to the community. Two years before that, she was presented with the Mayor’s Civic Award by the then-mayor of Caerphilly County Borough, Cllr Gaynor Oliver.

And in 2021 she was presented with a Community and Charity National Lottery Award by Welsh pop icon Cerys Matthews.

Senedd Members have also praised Katherine’s efforts.

Caerphilly’s Labour MS Hefin David said: “Katherine is a true community champion.

“Everything that the Miners Centre has become has been because of her unmatched drive and determination.

“She has brought together numerous teams of people to take the centre from strength to strength and has shown exemplary leadership. Thank you Katherine.”

Plaid Cymru’s Delyth Jewell, who represents the South Wales East region, said: “Katherine has worked wonders at Caerphilly Miners’ Centre.

“She is dedicated, creative and kind, and those qualities colour everything she does – from coming up with new ways of keeping people connected during the Covid pandemic, to launching a climate change garden at the Miners’ Centre; and from overseeing the teams of wonderful volunteers and the classes they run, to thinking of more and more ways of celebrating this treasured community space through concerts, bake sales, galas and fairs.

“Over the past six-and-a-half years since being a Senedd Member, I’ve got to know Katherine and have seen first-hand the brilliantly inspiring work that she does at the centre. 

“She will be immensely missed at the helm, but I have every confidence that she’ll help secure a worthy successor to continue with her wonderful work.

“I really think that Katherine has been a visionary for the valleys in the ways she’s helped transform the Miners’ Centre – our thanks to her are immeasurable.  Diolch i chi, Katherine, am bopeth.”

Could you be the person to take Caerphilly Miners Centre forward?

The new chair, when appointed, will oversee the board of trustees with a time commitment of around 25 to 30 days a year to attend meetings and fulfil other commitments.

The charity is also looking for an honorary treasurer who will monitor the financial administration of the charity, overseeing budgets, and ensuring proper accounting records are kept.

This is also an unpaid position with a time commitment of around an hour a week plus one board meeting every six weeks and one finance committee meeting in between each board meeting.

Email secretary@caerphillyminerscentre.org.uk to express an interest in becoming either chair or treasurer and to find out more.