£1.7m funding boost set for synagogue redevelopment

Anthony Lewis, Local Democracy Reporter

The redevelopment of a synagogue in a Valleys town into a Jewish heritage centre is set to get £1.7m in grant funding.

The Welsh Government has announced a £12.6m package to go towards town centre regeneration and Merthyr Tydfil’s Grade II-listed synagogue will get £1.7m from this round of funding to help transform it into a Welsh Jewish cultural centre.

The heritage centre will present the more than 250-year history, traditions, and culture of the Welsh Jewish community while also addressing contemporary issues around religious and ethnic diversity, promoting inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue while combating ignorance and prejudice.

The Jewish congregation was established in 1848 before it ceased as a place of worship in 1983.

After that the former synagogue took on a variety of uses, including a gym, but since 2006 it has been empty.

In 2022 the Foundation for Jewish Heritage successfully secured funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns programme to bring the building back to life.

In 2018 the foundation conducted a feasibility study funded by the Muriel and Gershon Coren Charitable Trust exploring the viability of a heritage centre at the building, which was deemed as being at risk.

The foundation went on to purchase the site in 2019 and carried out urgent repairs in 2020 with financial support from private trusts, individual donors, and Cadw.

Cabinet secretary for housing and local government, Jayne Bryant, said: “This funding is not just about infrastructure – it is about creating real, tangible change for the people who live and work in these areas.

“By revitalising town centres, supporting local businesses, and improving public spaces we are helping to build places where communities can thrive both socially and economically.

“We know that strong, vibrant high streets are the backbone of wider economic growth across Wales. When our town centres succeed they attract investment, create jobs, and provide opportunities that benefit the whole region.”