Rev Eldon Phillips, a Goods Shed Trust Trustee, dressed up as Isambard Kingdom Brunel
A fundraising Curry Night for the Llanelli Railway Goods Shed project raised more than £1000.
The evening at the Ali Raj restaurant in Trinity Road, Llanelli, saw a fundraising auction which included artwork focussed on the Llanelli coastline and souvenirs from the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“It was a very successful evening and the total raised hit £1074,” said Llanelli Railway Goods Shed Trust project officer Robert Lloyd.
“Everyone enjoyed the occasion and our trustee the Rev Eldon Phillips dressed up as Isambard Kingdom Brunel for the occasion.
“It was very appropriate to have the event at the Ali Raj, which is just the other side of the tracks to the Goods Shed site in Marsh Street.”
The Goods Shed project aims to save and restore the derelict Grade II Listed railway station building (built in the Brunel style in 1875) and bring it back into life as a dynamic multi-purpose hub for the community.
“The project is moving on at some pace now as we have completed a whole series of development works, thanks to grant funding from the Big Lottery Wales CAT2 (capital asset transfer) scheme and the Heritage Lottery Fund in Wales,”
Mr Lloyd said: “We had a pot of more than £110,000 to spend on everything from structural reports, architectural plans, ecological and ground surveys, archaeological reports and traffic and highways proposals.
“A planning application for the site has been lodged with Carmarthenshire Council and we expect a decision before the end of November.
“The hard graft has now started on a variety of further grant applications for the capital funds needed for the building work. We will also be applying for revenue funding to employ people on site.
“The key message we want to get across is that this is a project designed to breathe new life into what is an historic building. Getting the support of the community and tapping into everyone’s ideas for the project is crucially important as the plans for the future use of the building take shape.”
The Goods Shed plan is the biggest independently-organised project of its kind in West Wales.
Llanelli MP Nia Griffith, chairman of the trustees, said: “The Shed is deceptively spacious, with an office block the size of a small community centre at one end, a vast cathedral-like main space, a full-height basement running the length of the building, and plenty of land outside to provide both off-street parking and activity areas.
“Currently, our plans include space for business start-ups, community café, heritage area with a real locomotive in situ, arts rehearsal and workshop space, video-making facilities, exhibition spaces, meeting rooms, training and work opportunities and community garden.
“But we appreciate we do not have a monopoly on ideas and still want to hear from members of the public and interested community groups and businesses about the types of activities they would like to see in the building.”
If you would like to find out more, or have suggestions to make, please see their website http://www.llanellirailwaygoodsshedtrust.org.uk/ or contact our project officer on Robert Lloyd on email on [email protected] or phone 07777 683637
