Maerdy Hall

The Council approved the demolition of Maerdy Hall this week, and the Western Mail has the story today.

I have seen the paper that went to the Council on the issue. It is sad to see old historic buildings going. The difficulty, as the Valleys' population declined following the closure of the pits, has been sustainability - giving the buildings a long-term future.

There has been consultation with the local community through Maerdy Communities First, and that concluded that most people felt that the building was in a dangerous state and had to go.

Maerdy is of course a historic village - known as Little Moscow in the earlier part of the twentieth century, and home of the last pit in the Rhondda. My friend and comrade, Mike Richards, the last chair of the Maerdy Lodge, and a trustee of the Hall, says this:

I have got a mixed feeling about it. In its present state it has to come down, Nobody is interested in the building and it is more or less out of date for its time.

It is a magnificent building but the longer it is left, the more dangerous it is going to become. There is a problem there.

It has served the community over the years, it has educated people and it has given people lots of pleasure and enjoyment, as most institutes have.

Nobody is interested in it, so they are pulling it down. But there are people who are saying the money being used to pull it down could go towards renovating the building.

It has always been the focal point. Not only is it a big building in stature, it has educated people in its library, the stage has held gymanfa ganu and concerts, bands used to play there.

It has all gone on in Maerdy Hall.

I wrote to the WDA to support the application for funding for the demolition and it has been secured as I understand it.