The ground-breaking Goods Shed project in Llanelli has received a second major boost with a £58,800 development grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund in Wales.
The award follows hot on the heels of a £50,000 development grant from Big Lottery Wales.
The cash goes into a budget pot of £138,000 of development funding which will give the project lift-off.
The Goods Shed project aims to save and restore the derelict Grade II Listed building in Marsh Street and bring it back into life as a dynamic multi-purpose hub for the community.
The whole scheme is currently estimated to cost £1.7million.
“Our project is hugely ambitious and the biggest independent project of its kind in West Wales,” said the chairman of the Llanelli Railway Goods Shed Trust, Nia Griffith, MP for Llanelli.
“We have been working hard to secure the necessary funds to help the project get lift-off and move through a development phase which will allow us to do the preparation work of reports from surveyors and architects and planning permissions.
“Of crucial importance to us now is taking the people of Llanelli with us on the journey to completing this project.
“We will be consulting with the public as we finalise the plans for the building.
“And we remain open to ideas from all stakeholders and interested groups and individuals for the future use of the building.
“This latest announcement from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) is a huge boost for us and represents another important part of our funding jigsaw.
“We are grateful to HLF and Big Lottery Wales for showing confidence in the project. Accessing grant funding is an incredibly competitive and challenging business nowadays, so we thank both organisations for recognising that we have a project here in the Goods Shed that is worthy of support.”
“To get to this stage, we have already received support from Carmarthenshire County Council and the Architectural Heritage Fund.
“In addition, we also have a pledge of £400,000 in capital/building works funding from the Railway Heritage Trust.
“The support has been significant, but there is much more that needs to be done. In fact, the work on the Goods Shed project starts in earnest this week as we progress our development plans and work towards securing other capital/building funds from HLF and Big Lottery Wales.
“All that we have achieved so far is down to the support we have received from the people of Llanelli and we look forward to counting on their further support as the project starts to gather up a greater head of steam.
“Our project will breathe new life into the building and our current plans involve establishing a multi-purpose community hub to include offices, arts facilities, a cafe and a heritage experience.
“Once the building is renovated and in daily use it will be a huge improvement for this area, near Llanelli Railway Station, and will be a real boost for the local community.”
Goods Shed project officer Robert Lloyd said: “Development works are classed as things like site surveys, professional fees for specialists such as architects and planning permission costs.
“I will be working closely with the local community and interested groups, organisations and individuals over the next few weeks as we begin to lock down our plans for the site.
“Anyone who wants to know more about our plans can ring me on 07777 683637 or contact me by email at rlloydpr@btinternet.com.
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