Minister visits Maesteg to view progress of landmark redevelopment

Welsh Government Minister for Finance and Local Government, Rebecca Evans MS visited Maesteg recently to view the progress of Maesteg Town Hall redevelopement.

The Minister, who attended Plasnewydd Primary School in Maesteg, was taken on a tour of the building works and was shown developments to date while talking through the detailed plans for each space by the appointed architects Purcell UK, contractors Knox and Wells and officers from both Bridgend County Borough Council and Awen Cutural Trust.

The building is undergoing a major redevelopment in the largest investment Maesteg town centre has seen in decades, with the focus on restoring the Grade II listed building to its former glory and enhancing it with modern features such as a new glass atrium, studio theatre and cinema space, café and mezzanine bar, heritage centre and library.

At the lower level, the former indoor market area, is being totally transformed into an open public space exposing glazed tiles, terracotta brick quoins and stonework.

This new open space will include a children’s library, co-designed with local primary schools and café area creatively designed to depict the valley’s natural beauty, mountainous landscape combined with its rich industrial iron and coal mining heritage.

Whilst work is progressing with the restoration of the magnificent concert hall, the revisioning of the lower ground floor and the creation of the glazed extension with new studio space, painstaking attention to detail has been used to uncover and preserve the hall’s impressive heritage features, which include the brick archways, tiling, cornicing and columns.

The latest development has seen the installation of glass panels to the new atrium, a space cleverly created to extend a structural link from the building to the community, in an open and inviting design concept.

We really cannot underestimate the scale and complexity of this ambitious regeneration project – we are not just restoring an historic building.

We are preserving, enhancing, and carefully constructing an arts and cultural hub for all generations of the town and surrounding valley to enjoy.

The town hall represents the very heart of the town, and our aim is to keep this heart beating as a cornerstone of this community for the next century and beyond.

Councillor Rhys Goode, Cabinet Member for Housing, Planning and Regeneration

Rebecca Evans, Minister for Finance and Local Government, said: “It was fantastic to see the progress that has been made on this regeneration project.

“This ambitious development can benefit the whole community, providing somewhere for people to learn, work from and socialise with others. I’m glad to hear local primary schools have had an input into the designs and am looking forward to returning when work is completed.”

You can view a video of the Minister’s visit on the council’s YouTube channel, which includes a glimpse of the works that are currently underway.

The project is being funded by Bridgend County Borough Council, the European Regional Development Fund, the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Welsh Government including CADW, Awen Cultural Trust, Maesteg Town Council, the Garfield Weston Foundation, the Davies Trust and the Pilgrim Trust.