New Community Centre – Canolfan Gwili Centre – Opening soon in Hendy

LLANEDI Community Council is proud to report that the redevelopment of the new Canolfan Gwili Centre (formerly Hendy Cricket Club) into a new modern Community Centre is almost complete.

The redevelopment project has been extensive but the end is in sight with completion and handover due by the end `of this year.

A significant amount of building work has been required to convert the old Cricket Pavilion and this has only been made possible due to a large investment from Llanedi Community Council and a £126,000 grant that was awarded to the project by the Welsh Government Rural Communities Development Fund.

In addition to the building work, there are significant upcoming costs to fit out the new building and we are now able to report that Llanedi Community Council was successful in a recent application to the new Sustainable Communities Fund through Carmarthenshire County Council and have secured £124,000 towards these costs and to the cost of
installing new energy saving Solar Panels to be fixed to the roof of the building.

Llanedi Community Council aims to provide much needed facilities to the area, many of which have been identified through a recent round of public consultation. Some of these facilities include:

• Cegin Beca our Café/Bistro – which will also cater for Parties, Conferences & Events
• Conference Meeting Rooms with free WiFi and Video Conferencing Capability
• Activity Rooms for use by Community Groups & Small Businesses
• Large Sports Hall which can also seat 100+ people for Concerts/Conferences.
• Function rooms capable of seating over 100 people for private parties/conferences/events
• Hot Desk Hire
• Electric Car Charging Points
• Picnic area with views overlooking the Hendy Nature Trail sited behind the building.

The new community centre sits on a nature reserve and is surrounded by varied wildlife and beautiful natural views which we are sure will provide positive appeal to many, not only from the locality but also attracting those travelling to the area from further afield to make use of the many and varied facilities offered.

To assist the Council with the operational running of the Centre, we will be recruiting several new members of staff including strategic management positions such as Centre Manager/Community Co-ordinator, Chef/Kitchen Manager and a Café/Restaurant Manager as well as a Caretaker and Café/Restaurant Supervisors and Team Members.

Information about the newly available roles and how to apply can be found on our website www.llanedi.org.uk

It is extremely important to the Llanedi Councillors that the public take a real ownership of this community asset and as such they and the officers of the council are in the process of establishing a new Community Organisation who it is hoped will take over the day-to-day management of the new Centre making it truly sustainable for future generations
to come.

The Council is currently inviting expressions of interest from members of the public who are interested in joining such a social enterprise and from local organisations and businesses who may be interested in using the facilities in the future. Expressions of interest can be made to David Davies, Clerk Llanedi CC at clerk@llanedi.org.uk or by phoning 07971 026493.