News

Please note the changes to local waste collections over the Christmas Period

The future of the Railway Inn in Llanpumsaint.

On behalf of the Railway Inn Community Pub Committee, Antur Cymru and the Brechfa Forest West Community Benefit Wind Farm Fund, we are very pleased to share some exciting news. On Friday last week the auctioneer agreed to withdraw the property from auction after accepting the Community Pub Committee's offer of £121,000 for the Railway Inn as a community pub.

This is a major step forward for the Railway Inn in Llanpumsaint and a significant moment made possible through strong partnership working and timely support. Over a period of just 72 hours, local residents came together with remarkable speed, generosity and determination to secure the property for the community.

In just 72 hours, from the public meeting to formally constituting the committee, opening a bank account, securing a funding award from the Brechfa Fund, and having the offer of £121,000 accepted by the auctioneer, the pace of progress has been unprecedented.

This was made possible because the Brechfa Forest West Community Benefit Fund is able to act flexibly and responsibly. RWE's support for the fund allows decisions to be taken quickly when communities face time-critical opportunities, making it possible to respond in ways that genuinely meet local need.

With guidance and support from the Brechfa Fund team and Antur Cymru, a public meeting was held, the Railway Inn Community Pub Committee was formally established, a constitution was agreed with the support of Hannah at Cwmpas, and a committee account was opened with SaveEasy Community Credit Union, with particular thanks to Janine and Claire for their assistance. These steps enabled the group to act quickly, responsibly and in the best interests of the village at a critical moment.

The committee is:
Mike Eynon, Chair
Carolyn Smethurst, Vice Chair
Laurie Perring, Treasurer
Niki Day, Secretary

Antur Cymru played a central role in supporting the group through these early stages, helping to coordinate activity, provide advice and ensure appropriate governance arrangements were in place so the opportunity could be secured.

We also wish to formally thank the Brechfa Fund Community Panel members, who convened an additional late-night meeting to consider and approve this significant financial commitment. Their willingness to make decisions at pace ensured the community could act when timing was crucial, and their trust and partnership have been vital in reaching this point.

We also thank Louise Cartwright, a freelance consultant funded by the Brechfa Fund, who facilitated the public meeting at very short notice.

There is still a legal process to complete but the news gives the community real hope and a shared sense of achievement.

Moishe Merry, Fund Manager at the Brechfa Forest West Community Benefit Wind Farm Fund said: "This has been unprecedented in terms of speed. I want o thank the community panel members and everyone involved for making this process work, for taking decisions at pace, and for responding with such commitment and care. This really is an opportunity for the whole community. Even when a power cut interrupted the public meeting, people just carried on in the dark. That determination, calm problem-solving and collective spirit perfectly captured what this community is capable of, and why supporting this project felt so important."

We will continue to keep everyone updated as things progress. For now, thank you to everyone who has supported, encouraged and contributed.

This is a real community milestone.

It is with great pleasure that I am able to announce that the Railway Inn has been saved and purchased as a Community Pub for Llanpumsaint village. There is a press release from the Brechfa Forest West Wind Farm fund which will be available on this website soon.

How did we manage it?

There was a village meeting last Tuesday (2/12) which showed that there was sufficient interest from attendees to go forward and try to purchase the pub with the generous support of a grant from the Brechfa Wind Farm fund. Even a power cut half way through did not stop the meeting and it was continued with lights from mobile phone torches to enable the meeting to continue.

At the meeting thoughts and ideas were discussed including concerns that there wouldn't be sufficient volunteers, low support from the village generally and that there could be a detrimental effect on the Hall, School and Park fundraising events. However it was agreed that the risk of losing the pub to a property developer at auction was sufficient motivation to 'go for it', then, if successful, the pub would work with existing village groups to be an asset to the community.

And so started an unprecedented 72 hours from the meeting, beginning with forming a committee for the Railway Inn Community Pub Group, creating a constitution, setting up a bank account, agreeing and approving a funding level and negotiating with the receiver on a sale price and ALL by close of business on Friday!

Normally this would have been an impossible task in such a short time, but with amazing team-work this was achieved, and a big thank you goes out to all that had attended the meeting, stepped forward to join the committee and all the positivity from the Antur Cymru team that worked way into their evenings - this was very special and appreciated.

What's Next?

Firstly we have to conclude the legal side of the purchase. Then we start the process of returning The Railway Inn to a public house, but with a community pub model. This process will be slow, with a steep learning curve where we will call on technical experts who have been successful on other community pub projects, tailoring things to our villages specific needs. Alongside grants, we will look for additional funding from sponsors, individuals an initiatives which we will let you know about in due course.

Your Pub Needs You!

We have places available on the committee if you are interested in being part of the decision making team. We will also need volunteers that can give their time and skills (anything from a bit of gardening, painting and cleaning, through to more technical aspects as the project develops). If this is of interest and you want to be part of this exciting project and you fancy giving a few hours as part of a group, please drop me an email on Michael.eynon1@gmail.com or message me on Facebook.

We plan to give regular updates on the pub progress through the Llanpumsaint Facebook group and the new website, so keep watching.

Mike

On Behalf of The Railway Inn Community Pub Group

Following all the interest from local residents, a consultant will be running an informal session on Tuesday 2nd December at 6pm in the Meeting Room at the Memorial Hall to explore the idea of a community pub. This is not a decision-making meeting. It is simply a chance to understand the options, ask questions and see what support might be available if the community wishes to explore it further. If you would like to be involved but can't attend please contact Moishe Merry on mmerry@anturcymru.org.uk or 07779 457351

CANCELLED
Unfortunately, due to technical issues, the first Family Movie Night at Llanpumsaint Church on Friday 12th December has had to be cancelled. It is hoped that this can be rescheduled in February. Our Apologies for any disappointment but we look forward to welcoming you at a later date.

We are delighted to announce the launch of the new Llanpumsaint website. Apart from the new look we have tried to make it more user friendly and reactive. Obviously it is still in it's early days and its ongoing development will depend on our viewers keeping us up to date about events, news and any other suggestions for the site. Please take your time to browse the site and if you have any corrections, additional information, photographs and suggestions please let us know. We hope that you enjoy browsing and that it soon becomes the go to place to find out about what is going on in the community.

Due to the flooding and ongoing problems experienced at the Bronwydd Village Hall, our next meeting on Monday 24th November will be held in the Hollybrook Country Inn, Bronwydd at 2pm.

Most details will remain the same with £2 per person on the door including a raffle ticket. There will also be tea and coffee after the talk as usual.

Speaker will be Mr Tweli Griffiths entertaining us with his 'Life as a TV Reporter'.

Please could members pass on this information to others who may not be online.
For further information call the Secretary Val Giles on 01267 281194