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Plans to “breathe new life” into Llancaiach Fawr are “very much on track”, the council’s leader has insisted.

The 17th-century manor house, near Nelson, was mothballed by the council last year in a bid to save £485,000 a year.

The venue has now been closed for nearly a year, despite the council announcing in July that a new operator had been identified to take over its running.

It has sparked questions from opposition councillors. Plaid Cymru’s Greg Ead asked: “Why is it taking so long to negotiate a deal with an operator? It would suggest there are problems but the council has put up a wall of silence.”

Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, submitted to the council by Cllr Ead, show the maintenance of Llancaiach Fawr is still costing the council £6,504 a month – but some of these costs have been offset by the hire of the site as a filming location. This has reduced the net spend at the end of October to an average £3,903 per month.

‘We can’t have another year of this’

Cllr Ead, who represents the Penyrheol ward, said council taxpayers “deserve to know what is happening” and suggested negotiations had hit a hurdle: “We can’t have another year of this much-loved asset being shut to the public.”

The Plaid councillor said he made a request for a question on the matter to be answered at a council meeting on Tuesday November 11, but said he was refused.

“What is this Labour council trying to hide from the public? They need to be honest and come clean,” he said.

‘Positive progress is still being made’

However, despite Cllr Ead’s concerns, the local authority insists “positive progress is still being made”.

A council spokesperson explained: “The lease has not as yet been signed with the preferred operator, as their submission outlined that they needed to establish a charity, who would act as the lessee.

“We are currently discussing opportunities for them taking occupancy of Llancaiach Fawr before the charity is formed and this has caused a time lag, but positive progress is still being made.”

Cllr Jamie Pritchard, who became the council’s leader earlier this month, said: “I would like to reassure the community that our plans to breathe new life into Llancaich Fawr are very much on track.”

Discussing the current situation, he said: “There is obviously a detailed process that we must follow when selecting a new operator for the site and this work continues.

“We will update the community about the latest developments at the appropriate time. We are excited about what the future holds.”

Responding to Cllr Ead’s criticism of the council, Cllr Pritchard said: “When I became the new leader last week, I said I wanted to work constructively with all members and that my door is open.

“I value meaningful conversations and engagement with all members and I could have told Cllr Ead the facts in a much quicker way if he came to the office for a simple chat, rather than asking via the press.”