Plans approved for ‘vibrant’ community projects in town’s disused toilets and green space

Plans for two “vibrant” community projects in Risca will transform underused public spaces and provide important services for the town, senior councillors have heard.

Caerphilly County Borough Council has approved Community Asset Transfers (CATs) of land to local groups keen to make their mark.

The town’s “disused” public toilet block in Tredegar Grounds will be transferred to Community Volunteers Wales, to set up a new Risca Kiosk.

The new “community-led” venue will offer refreshments, play and wellbeing equipment hire, and a unisex toilet with baby-changing facilities.

Dawn Derraven, from Community Volunteers Wales, said the project will breathe new life into “a local eyesore” and provide Risca with “the three Cs – caffeine, connections, and clean loos”.

Tara Holloway, another member of the organisation, said the site, in the corner of the park, is currently “more attractive to pigeons than people”.

Opening a new toilet there will “improve dignity and safety” for residents, and solve “a practical problem with a creative solution”, she added.

Cllr Sean Morgan, who leads the local authority, described the plans as “fantastic”.

Cllr Nigel George, the cabinet member for assets, noted the proposals would address “an urgent local need” for visitors to the park and could also improve footfall in Risca.

Meanwhile, a patch of council-owned land at Dan y Graig will be handed over to the Bee Well Cooperative for a range of wellbeing services.

Its members include a beekeeping charity, which plans to establish a honey farm on the site; a family-run farm offering “forest school” and outdoor learning activities; and a “Viking-style settlement project” teaching bushcraft and survival skills.

Other members of the cooperative are a wellness initiative focusing on nature-based therapies, a veterans’ support group, and a therapy organisation offering “holistic health interventions”.

John Mustoe, the chairman of the beekeeping charity BWORKZ CIO, which is leading the cooperative, said the new project “truly serves the community” and allows people to “be part of something meaningful”.

“It will directly improve lives across Caerphilly,” he added.

The enthusiasm around the two projects has been welcomed by senior figures at the council, which is looking to develop CATs as a way to empower communities to take over sites the local authority can no longer run, or has deemed surplus to requirements.

Chief executive Richard Edmunds told cabinet members he had a “warm feeling” about the projects.

Practically, CATs will help the council save money by transferring responsibilities for sites to their new owners.

Caerphilly Council has recently hired a dedicated CAT officer to help interested groups through the process, head of property Ben Winstanley told cabinet members.

To any other prospective community groups, he added: “We’ve got a good website if you want some early engagement – but I would recommend just picking up the phone.”