Caerphilly Miners Centre for the Community was registered by the Charity Commission on February 8th 2012. Initially a group of local people under the chairmanship of Jeff Cuthbert AM set up the project in 2008 to save The Beeches (the original building of the Caerphilly Miners Hospital) from demolition.
The Beeches, bought by the Rhymney Valley miners as a hospital, in 1923 is for many Caerphilly residents a symbol of their industrial legacy. The new charity is a social enterprise working in partnership with United Welsh Housing Association. It has ambitious plans to create opportunities for training, learning and volunteering and day respite care, working with others and serving all parts of the community.
Jeff Cuthbert AM for Caerphilly and Chair of the Caerphilly Miners Centre for the Community said:
I can finally say. WE DID IT! Conversations that started in 2007 have now resulted in the Caerphilly Miners Centre for the Community project becoming a Company by Guarantee and a Charity. It’s amazing that a building which was bought by the community nearly 90 years ago can come back into the service of the community.’
‘We are the first project of this type in all of Wales and I am honoured to have been able to Chair this exciting project during that time. I want to thank community activists, members and everyone else who has helped us by donating their time, money and support. Most importantly I want to thank Katherine Hughes for all of her hard and tireless work. Without her none of this would have happened and I look forward to visiting this project many times over the years to come and being proud of the people who made it possible.
