Feasibility study conducted by: CDG, Pill Box, Church St, Newport, NP20 2BY  Tel: 01633 250271 Fax: 01633 221985    

Email: cdg@communitydesign.demon.co.uk   Web: www.communitydesign.demon.co.uk

Introduction   back  return to top of page

The St Matthews Church Hall in Treorchy, was for many years the centre for a wide range of community activities. In recent years the condition of the building has resulted in a drop in its use.

An Architect has been appointed to look at a new plan and costings, and CDG has been commissioned to look at the financial implications for St Matthews of upgrading the building and making it a fully accessible venue for the local community which will allow the church to continue to support the local community and provide a focus for local activities in the town.
 

Background   back  return to top of page

The Rhondda

As a result of the tremendous growth of the coal industry a whole new society came into being in the valleys of South Wales in the 19th century. In the case of the Rhondda its population doubled between 1871 and 1881 and then trebled up to 1911. Before that time the area was an area almost entirely given over to agriculture and forestry

After the First World War the world-wide demand for coal decreased and the Rhondda saw a reverse in its fortunes. and by the start of the next World War more than 50,000 people had left. The post-war years saw further decline in the mining industry, with the last pit in the Rhondda closing in Maerdy in 1990. 

The 150 years of coal saw a strong and self-reliant communities grow, with a vast array of community and civic organisations. The Rhondda's choirs and brass bands - especially the Treorchy Male Voice - were known across the world.

Recent years have seen new businesses and other industries taking over, including Griffin Windows, Tomas Lloyd (furniture) and Peacocks on the local industrial estates and Burberry in Treherbert - and many people now work outside the Rhondda.

The Rhondda consists of two valleys, the Rhondda Fawr - running from Blaenrhondda in the north through to Tonypandy and Penygraig - and the Rhondda Fach, running from Maerdy through to Wattstown and Ynyshir. The two rivers converge at Porth.

Treorchy   back  return to top of page

Treorchy is located half way up the Rhondda Fawr, at the crossroads of the main A4061 to Bridgend and the A 4058 from Pontypridd. The valley is served by a passenger trainline making travel to work relatively easy if there is no access to private transport.

There is a wide selection of shops in the town centre and a range of other facilities which serve the community, but the decline in church and chapel attendance means that a number of such buildings have closed and the facilities they provided have been lost. Most of the remainder are struggling to survive, but St Matthews, despite having been without its own minister for the past three years, is holding its own. The church is evidently able to promote and help support an upgraded community hall, as projected here, but the lack the capital sum needed to go forward.

The subject of this study, St Matthews Church Hall, is located on the main road through the town within easy walking distance of the shops, and adjacent to the attractive stone built St Matthews Church. 

The Community   back  return to top of page

Treorchy has not been designated a Communities First Area - however it borders the Treherbert CF Area and shares many of the problems associated with disadvantage and poverty. The 2001 Census shows that the town has a population of about 8000 inhabitants, living in 3400 households.  The proportion of young people in the community is very much the same as the rest of the country, however the number of people of an age to be earning a living is much lower than the rest of the UK, and the population over 60 - i.e. mainly retired - is significantly higher. This combined with a population with low educational aspirations and expectations (a significantly higher number with no qualifications compared to the average for the rest of the country) and with a very high proportion permanently sick or disabled,  suggests that this is a community where social disadvantage is a significant factor. The potential for continuing social isolation - particularly in the elderly with nearly 18% of households being made up of pensioners living alone - is also something that contributes to social exclusion and a community lacking in capacity to help itself.

Community Facilities in Treorchy   back  return to top of page

Without venues to host activities such as choir practice, computer classes, play groups  and pensioners¹ lunch clubs, then social cohesion begins to unravel. It is important  therefore, that villages and towns like Treorchy are able to host the kinds of activities that will help halt the spiral of decline within their community by providing opportunities for capacity building and social interaction.  A community buildings audit was carried out which identified the following community venues in the area: 

• St Matthews Church Hall

• Abergorki Institute

• Oaktree Hall

• Park & Dare (lesser hall)

• Bethlehem Hall

• Ynyswen Hall - the Coffin

• Boys Club of Wales

• Youth Club, Chapel St

• Noddfa Day Centre

There are also a range of Working Men¹s Clubs, and social clubs, which are essentially drinking establishments and therefore not really suited to general community activity.

The Abergorki Institute caters principally for small groups and sporting and keep fit activities, as well as hosting computer classes.

The Oaktree Hall is owned by the Pensioners¹ Group,  hosts their club, a tea dance, band practice etc and recently benefited from a grant to improve the premises. 

The Park & Dare is a council owned cinema, with a Olesser¹ hall which hosts Jazz Club, Art exhibitions and other arts related activities.

The OCoffin¹ at Ynyswen is very popular and although it is only half a mile away principally serves the neighbouring community of Ynyswen.

There is a youth club in the old Chapel St School which is principally a centre for young people - however it isn¹t open during the holidays and any group which uses it has to temporarily find another home.

The Boys Club is open for snooker every evening and the Noddfa Day Centre does OAP lunches everyday. 

o
St Matthews Church Hall   back  return to top of page

St Matthews Church was built as a school room in the mid 19th century and linked to the Abergorki Colliery which was opened in the 1860¹s. The Church Hall is a corrugated iron clad timber frame building typical of its type - it was probably built in the 1880¹s as a Sunday school hall, when the original school became the St Matthews Church.

The hall was extended in 1948 to provide a kitchen and wc¹s and an annex was built in 1954 to provide the vestry which links it to the church building itself.

St Matthews Church Hall is located on the main street in the centre of Treorchy and it  fills a distinct niche in the provision of facilities for the town. It is available for community use 7 days a week and because of its stage, is able to host concerts and plays that can¹t be done anywhere else. The following organisations use the Hall on a regular basis:

• WI     monthly

• Rainbows     weekly

• Girls Friendly Society     weekly

• War games Club     weekly

• Brass Band Rehearsals     occasionally

• Tap Dance Class     weekly

• Yoga     weekly during school holidays

• Thursday Craft Class     weekly

• Mothers Union     monthly

• Spotlight Theatre Group     rehearsals for 4-5 performances per year

• Church meetings and Functions    monthly

also occasionally:
Polling Station, Fundraisers for Cancer Research, Rhondda Civic Society AGM, Labour Party Women, the Treorchy Brass Band

The premises at the moment comprise a main hall with stage, a small side room, a poor kitchen and poor toilets. They are accommodated within a traditional corrugated iron clad hall, which is adjacent to St Matthews church and linked to it via a small meeting room which is accessible from both sides.

The state of the building which is in much need of upgrading to bring it up to standard, is not attracting the groups it could and is actively putting off potential community activity.

However, the Hall committee has many plans for encouraging future activity and have already had indications from prospective tenants about using the premises, for example:

• Yoga classes to move there permanently,

• Short mat bowls,

• weekly luncheon club

• Mother and Toddler group

• Surestart

User Groups   back  return to top of page

The following user groups volunteered information about the hall (see appendix 1):

• Girls Friendly Society

• Thursday Class (crafts etc)

• Women¹s Institute

• Yoga

• Rhondda Valley War Gaming Club

They represent a cross section of users, from girls up to 15 years of age, to older women at WI , and the War Games Club who are mainly males of varying ages.

Most of them use the hall weekly on average, with 20 people attending regularly. The Yoga class uses the school hall during term time, and the WI also uses the Bethlehem Chapel - both said they would be interested in using the hall more if it were improved.

Groups pay a flat rate of £5 per hour, unless they are a church group, in which case it is free. All require a large room for most of their activities, although the Girls Club also needs access to a side room for videos. Most groups require their own storage and access to a kitchen.

They don¹t really require special features, but would like to see the place generally upgraded and improved. In general they felt that it is good as a community hall as it is well located, convenient and open and available when other places are not available.

Because Treorchy itself is not a Communities First area, community regeneration is not taking place in the same structured way that it is in other parts of the Rhondda. However agencies such as Age Concern and Surestart are keen to develop initiatives in other areas - Surestart for example expressed an interest in help to link up the WI with a young mum¹s project.

Community Views   back  return to top of page

In order to get some idea of local perceptions of the hall and its use and potential use, CDG spent a wet November morning randomly canvassing people as they passed the hall and went about their business in Treorchy. About 20 people agreed to take part; obviously this can¹t be considered to be a representative view of the whole town, but it did give a flavour of how the hall is viewed and used.

The form was designed to establish what local families did in terms of activities outside the home, where they lived, whether they knew about or attended the Church Hall, and whether they felt there was a future role for the hall in a refurbished state.

Ore than half the people who were actually approached and invited to take part, declined (they were too busy, going to work, going home, cold, or just not interested), the ones who did said the following:

Who took part
20 individuals took part representing 42 people altogether
11 out of the 20 households were elderly (over 60)
8 of the household contained people from 30 ­ 60
5 households contained people between 19 and 30
3 households contained people between 12 and 18
2 household with children under 11.

14 respondents lived in Treorchy
The other 6 came from Treherbert, Ton Pentre, Gelli, and Miskin ­ they were either visiting, shopping or had come to work there.

Activities   back  return to top of page
12 respondents said that they took part in some kind of regular activity outside the home:
The WI seemed to be the most popular amongst older women, with 4 saying they were involved.
Others mentioned:
football, pool, church, swimming, bowls, oap club, sewing club, keep fit and a rock band.
The WI people and the Rock Band said they used the Church Hall, others said they used various venues such as the Keep Fit Centre, a pub, the Oaktree OAP centre.
The other 8 said they did nothing.

Have you used or attended St Matthews Hall
14 out of 20 said they had attended some kind of function or activity in the Hall ­ usually Jumble Sales or Christmas Fayres ­ most were from the town itself, although two people from other villages had attended the hall at some time.

These 14 people also offered suggestions on how the Hall could be improved ­ they all focused on the need to upgrade the facility. Some concentrated on how it looked others on things like the heating or condition generally.

Support   back  return to top of page
Everybody except one person was supportive of the Hall Committee¹s aim to refurbish the Hall and thought it would be a good idea.

In order to consider how the hall could be used in the future people were asked what they felt local problems were, and how the hall might serve the community better. Overwhelmingly, people concentrated on issues relating to .

young people  - lack of job prospects, roaming in gangs in the lunch hour and evenings.
the environment - traffic through the town, litter left by the Ogangs¹ of youngsters, empty shops, dilapidated buildings

People are very positive about what Treorchy has to offer ­ it¹s a good shopping centre, there¹s quite a lot to do. However there did seem to be a consensus about the need for 

• Othings for young people¹ & 

• Okeep kids off the streets¹

Other suggestions include:

• More concerts

• Whist drives

• Antiques roadshows

• Holiday play schemes

• Keep fit

• Dance classes

Conclusions   back  return to top of page

Treorchy has a range of community venues which fill particular niches - if St Matthews Church Hall had to close then a good number of groups would be without a home and events such as fundraisers, would need to find alternative accommodation, which apparently would be difficult. People don¹t see Treorchy as having a Ocommunity centre¹ at present.

People who don¹t regularly use the hall, still recognise it as somewhere that concerts or jumble sales are held, and see a value in that. The location of the hall is very convenient, being well situated on the main road adjacent to the shopping centre and near a bus stop.

An upgraded hall would attract new customers and there seems to be a demand for a range of activities as suggested above.

Recommendations   back  return to top of page

There is a whole section of the population who do very little in terms of organised activity outside the home, and the continued development of Oone-off¹ events would seem to be an appropriate role for the hall. Perhaps an events committee could be set up, with help from outside people, which could consider and pilot some of these - such as whist, or antiques roadshows.
The hall is also available during the school holidays and the establishment of holiday activities would help to address some of the problems associated with young people. Grant Aid is generally available for this type of activity.

There is a youth club in Treorchy - the Committee could consider some kind of Odrop in¹ facility for young people, or the development of more child orientated projects - for example if the Spotlight Theatre group rehearse there on a semi-regular basis, is there a role for a drama class or dance classes for youngsters?

Organisations such as Surestart and the WEA offer informal training and confidence building sessions with lone parents and like to provide child care facilities on the premises - the hall may well prove a suitable venue for this type of activity. Perhaps the Committee should consider broadening its membership and inviting possible partners to work with them and provide projects and local services.

November 2004

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