East Wales region has made a £1,000 grant to help bring the Twynyffald Road hall back into use.

Cefn Fforest Miners Welfare Hall and Institute was constructed in the interwar period using money granted by the Miners' Welfare Fund.

The group’s volunteers are hoping to raise enough money to rewire the hall, replace the boarded-up windows and redesign the toilets.

The cheque was presented by Persimmon to ‘Friends of the Cefn Fforest Miners Institute’ earlier this week, where they were joined by the Member of Parliament for Islwyn, Chris Evans.

The donation comes through our Persimmon Homes Community Champions scheme. Each month Persimmon donates up to £64,000 to good causes in Great Britain, including up to £4,000 in Wales.

Terence Evans, one of the fundraisers, said:

“We’re thrilled to receive this donation from Persimmon Homes.

“We want to create a space to provide facilities for our local community. It will be a real asset.

“There are only 48 out of 200 buildings left in the whole of Wales and we want to ensure that ours is one of them.

“We have held Christmas raffles and shopping trips and sold polo shirts with our logo on them.

“This donation takes us another step closer to our goal.”

Commenting on Persimmon’s donation, Chris Evans, the local MP for Islwyn, said:

"I was delighted to hear the Cefn Fforest Miners Welfare Hall are the winners of the Permission Community Champions Initiative and will receive a donation. This funding is vital in ensuring their amazing work can continue.

“The Friends of the Cefn Fforest Miners institute's work to restore the Miners Welfare Hall is so impressive.

“The hall has an important history in our community, and I am thrilled that it is being restored to its former glory."

Victoria Williams, Sales Director at East Wales region, said:

“We’re delighted to be able to support Cefn Fforest Miners Welfare Hall with this funding.

“Mining is such a huge part of Welsh history and these welfare halls were, in many cases, the hub of the community.

“We hope this is the start of a productive relationship with the group and it would be fantastic to see this facility brought back into use for the benefit of many local people in the area.”

Persimmon is currently building new homes right across South Wales, including at Carn y Cefn in Ebbw Vale.

Work on the £29m project began last summer. A mix of two, three and four-bedroom homes are being built, with prices starting at £184,995.

* Photo presentation includes Persimmon Homes’ Technical Project Manager, Jac Evans, Islwyn MP, Chris Evans, and members of Cefn Fforest Miners Welfare Hall.