Welsh Government Cabinet Secretary for Housing & Local Government, Jayne Bryant MS, has today visited Abertillery Library and Adult Community Learning Centre in its new home in Trinity Chapel, Blaenau Gwent.
The former chapel in the town has been regenerated using funding from the Welsh Government – Transforming Towns funding, Libraries Transformation Grant and the Zero Carbon Grant. There has also been Shared Prosperity Funding (UK Government) for the project.
The new library is at the heart of the local community and provides easy access to a wide range of services and activities, including Blaenau Gwent Council’s Community Hub, free access to computers and digital support and Citizens’ Advice. It is also the new location for adult community learning, offering a wide range of courses and classes. The new modern Library offers free Wi-Fi, and all floors have easy access with a lift to assist those who need it. The library is managed by Aneurin Leisure Trust.
Jayne Bryant MS was met by Councillor John Morgan, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Place & Regeneration; Council Leader Steve Thomas and Services Manager for Blaenau Gwent Libraries Tracey Jones, before being given a guided tour of the building, chatting to those that worked on the project and members of the community who benefit from the services.
The Cabinet Secretary welcomed the opportunity to see all these services and what they offer and also met with a Welsh Language social group who were enjoying their regular catch up.
Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Local Government, Jayne Bryant, said:
“Trinity Chapel is a much-loved building in Abertillery, and I’m so pleased that through our Transforming Towns programme we’ve been able to support its transformation, making a wide range of services more accessible to the local community. Bringing vacant and disused buildings back into active use is a central pillar of our regeneration strategy and it’s fantastic to see that this investment is already having a positive impact.”
Councillor John Morgan, Blaenau Gwent Council’s Cabinet Member for Place & Regeneration and Economic Development says:
“I was delighted to welcome Cabinet Secretary Jayne Bryant MS to Abertillery today to demonstrate how Welsh Government funding has been used to regenerate Trinity Chapel and put essential services in the heart of the community. Working with our partners at Aneurin Leisure Trust, we are making Trinty Chapel a thriving hub for the town, fostering support for education, community initiatives and town centre activities. It also provides our Community Hub with a prime location, giving residents easy access to a range of council services and advice on their doorstep.
“This is an exciting time for Abertillery and the redevelopment of Trinity Chapel forms part of a wider ongoing Placemaking Plan for the area and complements other regeneration related schemes which have recently been delivered in the town centre.”
Tracy Jones, Library Services Manager for Blaenau Gwent Libraries said:
“The new library space is incredible, and my team and I have worked hard to make sure that all our members find the new environment a pleasure to use. We hope that the new space will inspire even more people to use the valuable resource that we provide.”
Phill Sykes, Operations Director for Aneurin Leisure Trust said:
“We believe that the new space makes for a fantastic addition to Abertillery town centre. The adult community learning provision has got wonderful facilities. We appreciate that a barrier to a number of people engaging with learning was the fact the previous centre was on school grounds, so by providing a resource with exceptional facilities we hope this will encourage more people to try new courses.”
Abertillery Library & Community Education Centre is situated at Trinity Chapel, Church Street, Abertillery NP13 1DB.
More information about Blaenau Gwent’s library services can be found here.
More information on our Community Hubs here.
