“It is hard to express just what a difference the grant has made. Our community can move forward now, knowing our vital community hub is fit for purpose, future-proofed, and thriving. This also means our village will continue to thrive.”

Julia Edge, Cymau Community Centre

Over the past year, Cadwyn Clwyd has awarded grants totalling over £190,000 to eight village halls in Flintshire. These grants have empowered committee members – often volunteers – to focus on organising events and activities for the community rather than constantly worrying about future-proofing and paying bills.

Several village halls have used these grants to modernise outdated facilities.

Rhes y Cae Village Hall used the funding to remodel its kitchen and storage facilities. As a reopening event, they hosted a coffee morning in aid of NSPCC in July, which received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the community.

Halkyn Village Hall also upgraded its kitchen using the grant.

New Brighton Community Centre replaced an electric front door, repaired and updated the toilets, and installed a new fire door.

Other village halls focused on improving energy efficiency.

Caerwys Village Hall and Treuddyn Village Hall installed solar panels and battery storage, which helped reduce their energy bills.

Talarce Community Centre also installed solar panels and saw a marked decrease in energy consumption. Additionally, they re-rendered the building to prevent further deterioration and weather damage.

The Professional Fees Grant proved invaluable for Trelawnyd Memorial Hall. It allowed the committee to hire professionals to prepare architectural plans and manage the process of implementing the plans, including preparing grant applications.

Cymau Community Centre used their funding to address several key issues. They created a community garden that has proved popular with local families and children, replaced a leaking roof, installed solar panels, upgraded their boiler, redecorated the kitchen, and added new audio equipment and a screen.

“I always enjoy visiting the Cymau as its always warm and welcoming, and they have fantastic facilities. The community here is so supportive and I can feel myself relax once I get close to the community centre.”

Regular visitor at Cymau Community Centre