Council set to decide future of popular arts landmark

Nicholas Thomas, Local Democracy Reporter

Big changes could be coming to a popular community venue, as council leaders prepare to consider a new model for its long-term future.

Blackwood Miners’ Institute could be run by an “established” non-profit organisation in future, under new proposals.

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s cabinet members meet this week to mull over a new report on the cultural venue’s future – and look likely to pursue a deal which will allow the local authority to retain control of the building.

Day to day operations at the ’Stute would be the responsibility of an external party, however, and the council is set to start inviting expressions of interest from “experienced cultural operators”.

At a meeting on Wednesday December 10, cabinet members are expected to back that proposal from a range put forward by Awen Cultural Trust, which was commissioned to conduct a feasibility study for the site.

Cllr Jamie Pritchard, the council leader, said “the future looks bright” for the venue – which until earlier this year was at risk of being ‘mothballed’ to save money.

Awen said leasing and sub-contracting the ’Stute’s operations would “allow the council to retain ownership of the BMI as a key civic asset, while transferring operational risk and enabling more agile, community-focused management”.

The model could save an initial £192,000 through tax and pension benefits and “operational improvements”, while maintaining the ’Stute’s eligibility for Arts Council of Wales funding Awen called “critical” to the venue’s viability.

The trust proposed sub-contracting operations to either a “new purpose-built organisation” or an established provider, and the cabinet is expected to pursue the latter approach.

Ahead of the cabinet meeting, Cllr Pritchard said “an experienced external cultural organisation managing the day-to-day running of the venue, with the council retaining ownership of the iconic building, should bring positive long-term benefits for the venue and visitors”.

Cabinet members, who currently serve as the ’Stute’s trustees, will “consider a number of proposals on how best we can deliver this resource in a more sustainable way”, he added.

A council cost-cutting plan unveiled in the summer of 2024 could have led to the ‘mothballing’ of the venue it subsidised by £350,000 annually.

But that proposal met an angry response from the local community and representatives, and a protest march against the cuts drew huge crowds in Blackwood that September.

The council later scrapped the plan in January 2025, after the Arts Council of Wales awarded the ’Stute £210,000 in further funding.

The new report shows that money “strengthened” the venue, while a further £222,000 capital grant – awarded by the Arts Council and the Welsh Government in August – “enhances its appeal to prospective operators”.

If the new plans are approved, the council expects it will recommend a preferred operator for the ’Stute in the next financial year.