Like many industrial towns, Bargoed had suffered years of decline as a result of the collapse in industry, turning what was once a thriving and bustling centre of enterprise into a shadow of its former self. With shops closing and fewer people visiting the town, this decline was set to continue unabated.
However, with the creation of an ambitious and exciting proposal, the Bargoed ‘Big Idea’ sought to reverse this decline enabling the town to enter a new chapter. With an exciting new retail development, cinema, comprehensive public realm enhancement and substantial transport improvements, Bargoed is set to be transformed into a modern, dynamic and sustainable 21st Century town centre in the heart of the south Wales valleys.

As part of the ‘Big Idea’, the town’s library building was due to be demolished to make way for the new retail development. The Grade II listed Hanbury Baptist Chapel was a dilapidated and underused building located within the town. With a building in need of complete renovation and a town in need of a library, a partnership project was born.

A partnership was created with the Chapel’s congregation, United Welsh, Caerphilly County Borough Council and the Welsh Government’s Heads of the Valleys Programme, designed to breath new life into the Chapel building to house the ‘Bargoed Library’, creating a state-of-the-art education and community hub at the heart of the town centre.

Over the last 12 months the Chapel has been sensitively transformed, innovatively integrating an exciting and modern facility into the historic core of the building. The project has safeguarded a landmark building at the core of the town centre, creating a modern library, ‘Customer First Centre’, social enterprise cafe and Family History Resource Centre all supporting the long-term sustainability and revival of Bargoed and the wider area.

The project will play a key role in supporting the town centre. Breathing new life into a dilapidated building has improved the town centre environment and will further support its economic viability through increased footfall. Furthermore, the project provides an accessible location for what is a very social facility, improving access to education and training, customer services and simply creating a venue within the town centre to meet and socialise.

With over 17,000 visitors in its first month, the project has contributed significantly to improving the perception of the town centre and will significantly improve access to education and cultural opportunities for the community.

Bargoed Library is the first example of its kind in Wales to convert a chapel into a public library whilst retaining a practising worship space. Moreover, the creation of a multi-use facility is an innovative solution to the challenge of providing key services within town centres.

The Hanbury Baptist Chapel Congregation has played a key role in taking the project forward. Once the need for a suitable building to house the new library was established, the Congregation was approached for its views on developing the Chapel. Throughout the development, design and implementation phases, the Congregation has been key, detailing the requirements for the worship space and ensuring that this central feature and function of the building was retained.

As part of the project team, the Congregation fed into discussions and plans and were also given the opportunity of running the social enterprise café within the building. The design of the new worship space was a direct result of the Congregation’s ideas and aspirations.

The challenge with a historic building was ensuring that old and new were integrated seamlessly. This was innovatively achieved through using quality materials, replicating those used originally and adopting a low-carbon approach to minimise energy consumption. The facility performs to the highest environmental standards possible within the constraints imposed by the historic building.

The project shows that it is possible to use historic buildings for modern purposes and functions. In many valley towns, old buildings such as chapels provide a unique sense of place. Many are recognised for their architectural (and or cultural) importance and should therefore be celebrated as assets within town centres.

Despite these attributes, historic buildings are often seen as too much of a challenge to have a viable use and are left redundant or demolished. This project proves that provided there is the commitment, vision and funding in place, it is possible to find sustainable uses for historic buildings. These magnificent buildings can become ‘living’ landmarks, providing fantastic venues for facilities and services that support town centres and ultimately, the communities that rely on them.

More information: http://your.caerphilly.gov.uk/bargoedsbigidea/regeneration/regeneration

Judges’ comments:

“A fantastic regeneration of Grade II building.  Clever use: still place of worship with a library. Excellent to keep community facility at the heart of a town. Good use of old with new. Wonderful example of what can be achieved by a community. Shows that if you get the right facility you will get an increase in footfall!”

Where next?

• Wales Action for Market Towns 2012 Award winners named
• Action for Market Towns 2012 Awards

The grounds of the Old Hall in Cowbridge, in the Vale of Glamorgan, had been neglected for decades by a unitary authority which couldn’t afford to maintain the impressive historic structures or to improve the garden.

But Cowbridge Charter Trust (CCT) have used the efforts of volunteer action to transform the grounds into a beautiful community garden rich in biodiversity, as welcoming to wildlife as to human visitors.

CCT’s initial project was the restoration of the (Grade 2 listed) Town Walls which were in a ruinous state and overwhelmed by vegetation. The Vale Council  commissioned a survey which estimated a repair cost of £406k; CCT did its own professional study and applied to the Council for a grant of £60k to carry out the work. This was achieved in 2011 to the satisfaction of CADW and within budget. The initial stages involved offenders from the local prison who were funded to do a masonry course.

On the strength of this, CCT decided to restore the remains of Old Hall itself and the acre of garden behind it. Old Hall Gardens used to be a thoroughfare to the health centre, the library or the community college rather than a lovely space to be enjoyed in its own right. CCT in partnership with the Vale Council successfully applied for Creative Rural Communities funding and undertook a considerable renovation and restoration process.

The Georgian facade has been renovated and painted; an ugly concrete terrace has been replaced and extended using local recycled paving stones as a space for public events; sensitive lighting has been installed; many wildlife-friendly features have been added and a process of dense planting has begun in order to restore and enhance the habitat and food sources lost when the walls were stripped and repaired.

Now people of all ages use the benches to enjoy the natural world or just to eat their lunches; wedding pictures are being taken there; children love to look at the fish and newts in the pond and a pair of mallard have recently taken up residence.

The new terrace will host a performance by CADS (Cowbridge Amateur Dramatic Society) this coming summer and a community celebration of the Jubilee will be centred on the Garden on June 5th.

In local terms this was the biggest project ever undertaken by volunteers.  Because of the success of the project CCT were granted a 10 year Land Management Agreement to take over maintenance of Old Hall Grounds by the Council. CCT is composed entirely of volunteers and the project has been devised and carried out by them, either literally (as in gardening) or by employing local crafts people – and by involving and working with other local community organisations. And CCT won’t be stopping here: their next project is the rebuilding of the Old Hall itself!

More information: www.cowbridgechartertrust.co.uk

Judges’ comments:

“Excellent value achieved by a local group. Shows the power of an engaged community that want to achieve something.”

Where next?

• Wales Action for Market Towns 2012 Award winners named
• Action for Market Towns 2012 Awards

Where next?

• South of England Action for Market Towns 2012 Award winners named
• Action for Market Towns 2012 Awards

Phases 1 and 2 have now been completed and Stanley Park is an all encompassing sports ground, catering in the main for football with its first class grass pitches and state-of-the-art 3G All Weather Grass Pitch. The site offers ‘leisure and sports opportunities for all’ and has a purpose built BMX track, after school and holiday activities, an ICT suite, a function/seminar room and plays host to a number of community groups who use it as their base.

Providing the sports facilities at Stanley Park has had a huge health and wellbeing benefit to a large number of Chippenham residents. The Park now boasts a credible 89 teams and some 95 different groups call it ‘home’. The new facilities delivered as part of Phase 2 have doubled the number of changing rooms and provided a multi-purpose function and teaching space. This allows teams to undertake pre-coach/match analysis, play host to on-site coaching/teaching courses and enable a plethora of community groups to use it as their base and social area to meet up and make new friends.

The new 3G floodlit synthetic pitch has allowed local sports to train and compete in the winter months when the grass pitches have been deemed unsafe and unplayable. Providing clubs with facilities they can use uninterrupted throughout the year helps with their sports continuity and development plans.

The facility has allowed the Council to launch and develop its much acclaimed Football in the Community Scheme which offers quality football coaching for between 200 and 300 children per quarter. The programme is diverse and vibrant and caters for boys and girls of all ages, football fun weeks, after-school activities plus birthday parties.

The project has been successful as it identified a need to provide sports facilities which were acceptable and available to everyone. The Town Council took a collaborative approach working with a number of local authorities, public and private agencies and local volunteers to progress the ‘dream into the reality’.

The facilities at Stanley Park are first class, maintained to a high standard and meet Sport England Design Standards. The site was recently awarded the accolade of Public Sector Outdoor Facility of the year.

The whole 40 acre developed Park has been designed as an ‘environmentally friendly’ site. Rainwater is harvested and recycled and all cut grass is mulched and spread back onto the surfaces. Rainwater drains into a number of natural ponds around the site and the intention is to use this water to fill the 3 fishing lakes the Council are about to embark on in its next plan to develop the remaining undeveloped 10 acres on the site.

Judges’ comments:

“A fantastic development worthy of being in a capital city! A real demonstration of how a project can impact a community and a lesson for all on how to run such large scale facilities by volunteers!” Mark Ogden, Triodos Bank

Where next?

• South of England Action for Market Towns 2012 Award winners named
• Action for Market Towns 2012 Awards

So in 2009 the college started the redevelopment a brownfield site, creating an iconic new building (The Box, completed in May 2011), and took on the management of Kendal’s museum – extending its opening hours – and Kendal’s oldest building – the Grade 1 listed Castle Dairy, which had been empty for many years.

The new Box offers state of the art performance space and is also available for community use.  By operating and managing Kendal Museum and the Castle Dairy, the College is ensuring that the future of the buildings is hopefully secure for future generations to enjoy.

Together these buildings form the northern campus of Kendal and have provided employment and enjoyment for the town’s community.

More information: www.kendal.ac.uk

Judges’ comments:

“a quality project involving several partners and showing how to sustain buildings and not relying on grants. Extremely enterprising and a first with a college taking over a museum.”

Where next?

• West of England Action for Market Towns 2012 Award winners named
• Action for Market Towns 2012 Awards
• Kendal is the location for the 2012 AMT Convention. More about Kendal here.

The Community Hub in Wooler, Malton’s Food Lovers’ Market, a Pickering Park and Bedale’s Bakery receive accolades.

Four towns have beaten off competition from across the north of England to win recognition for their efforts to nurture thriving communities.

The winners for the north of England region of this year’s Action for Market Town awards have been announced:

• Business and Economy Category Winner: Food Lovers’ Market, Malton
• Environment and Culture Category Winner: Newbridge Park, Pickering
• Social and Community Category Winner: Bedale Community Bakery
• Partnership and Strategic Working and NORTH ZONE WINNER: Cheviot Centre, Wooler

Click on the links above to view profiles of each of the winners, photographs, and comments from Awards judges.

4 other entrants were commended by the judges:

• Barnard Castle Vision Community Interest Company – New Witham & Library
• Grassington Hub & Community Library
• Irvine Bay Regeneration Company (Scotland) – The Dig
• Mid Teesdale Project Partnership – Dickens in Teesdale

The winning projects go forward to be considered for Action for Market Towns’ prestigious National Award. National winners will be announced by historian and television presenter David Starkey in October at a ceremony in Kendal.

Last year’s winners received widespread press exposure and several were even held up as exemplary projects in a Parliamentary reception.

Chris Wade, the chief executive of AMT said:

“The quality and quantity of our entries shows that innovation and creativity is at the heart of many towns across the north of England. This years’ entries really raised the bar – giving judges a difficult task – and the regional winners should be congratulated for the positive effects their projects are having in their communities.

“The Action for Market Towns Awards celebrate these innovative projects and share good ideas allowing other towns across the UK to learn from our winners’ experiences.

“We are grateful to The Big Lottery Fund for their continued support for the Awards, and to specialist ethical fund manager CCLA for their sponsorship.  Delivery of the awards scheme is also supported by The Welsh Government.”

Background to awards:

Action for Market Towns founded its awards scheme in 2004 to recognise and showcase initiatives that are helping our small market towns to adapt to change and flourish.

For the awards, the presence of a ‘market’ is not the determining feature – more important is the relationship between the town and its hinterland. Towns eligible to enter the awards have a population of between 2,000 and 35,000, offer at least convenience shopping and meet some weekly and specialist needs.

The Action for Market Towns National Awards are supported by the Big Lottery Fund and sponsored by specialist ethical fund manager CCLA.

If you need any information about the awards, please contact: Anne Buchanan on 01633 411732 or email, awards@towns.org.uk. Further press information is available by emailing news@towns.org.uk

Notes to editors:

1.     Action for Market Towns (AMT) is a national charity committed to the vitality and viability of our small towns.

2.     It offers training, consultancy, national advocacy and a range of other services to more than 400 members.

3.     The awards are part funded by the Big Lottery Fund and sponsored by ethical fund manager CCLA.

Where next?

• Action for Market Towns 2012 Awards