The Council has secured significant Welsh Government funding towards a £136,600 project to renovate Tonypandy Library, representing the latest investment in the Town Centre.

The Local Authority has secured a Transformation Capital Grant of £120,000 from the Welsh Government’s Museums, Archives and Libraries division – with the remaining £16,600 funding provided through #RCTinvest. This scheme follows a £65,000 refurbishment to the Library’s exterior in 2017/18.

The additional scheme, to be delivered in 2018/19, will see the complete renovation of the building’s interior, to improve the current facilities and deliver more services from a range of partner organisations. It will include:

Two consultation rooms for confidential advice sessions.
An IT suite for Work Clubs, Digital Friday provision and adult education classes including family history and computer classes.
A community room.
A dedicated Makerspace area for people of all ages to create and collaborate on projects.
An upgrade to the existing kitchen space.
The creation of a disabled toilet, and improving the disabled access into the building by widening the pathway.

Works will begin later this year, and will be completed during early 2019.

The Library improvement is the latest Council investment in Tonypandy to increase the number of Town Centre visitors and, as a result, encourage further external investment. During April 2017, the Council introduced free parking in its Tonypandy Town Centre car parks.

In October 2017, the Council opened a Town Centre Maintenance Grant for the Tonypandy Retail Area. The pilot scheme, thanks to a £50,000 Council investment, allows businesses and landlords to apply for funding to improve their property fronts – to make the Town Centre a more vibrant place to visit.

And, in June 2018, the Council began major works to improve the Town Centre for businesses and visitors – including removing the pedestrianised area to allow through traffic at Dunraven Street. Works include creating new footways, traffic calming features, pedestrian crossing points, street furniture and parking bays – to transform the Town Centre landscape.

The Council has also recently announced additional improvements, to complement the wider Tonypandy scheme. This includes road surfacing at Primrose Terrace, Gelli Road/ Dunraven Street and Berw Road, and the renewal of the traffic signal junction at Gelli Road/Dunraven Street.

Councillor Rhys Lewis, Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Cabinet Member for Stronger Communities, Well-being and Cultural Services, said:

“The Council has welcomed the news that it has been successful in securing £120,000 Welsh Government funding to carry out significant renovations to the interior of Tonypandy Library. The project, planned for later this year, follows a £65,000 improvement scheme on the building’s exterior last year.

“The internal improvements will enable the Library to facilitate a wider range of activities – including the provision of community learning courses and advice services – while providing a better space for customers to collaborate on projects. They will also create a more engaging space for children to enjoy the Library service, including participating in reading and other activities.

“The Welsh Government’s support for this project will be complemented by #RCTinvest funding, to complete the £136,000 investment. I’m sure this scheme will be welcomed locally, and it adds to a number of initiatives in Tonypandy recently – including free parking, the Town Centre Maintenance Grant, and the major works currently ongoing to improve the street scene.”