First look inside refurbished Swansea arts centre

Lewis Smith – Local democracy reporter

A £2 million project to expand and revitalise a popular Swansea Valley arts centre is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

The Pontardawe Arts Centre, located off Herbert Street near the town centre, will soon open the doors to its new 74 seat cinema and café bar which has been built alongside a redesigned ticket office area and foyer.

The building is well known as a cultural hub in the Swansea Valley area for its traditional theatre that hosts a range of events such as classical music, stand-up comedy, celebrity talks, and dance and drama clubs.

The upgrade, which includes the new cinema built on to the side of the existing building, was designed to improve the centre‘s facilities and enable it to show the latest Hollywood blockbusters, which is something it was previously unable to do.

‘Fantastic’

Speaking just weeks before the opening, Councillor Cen Phillips who is Neath Port Talbot’s cabinet member for nature, tourism and well-being said: “It’s fantastic to have this new facility right in the heart of Pontardawe town.

“It will generate footfall with people coming in to the town centre which will help the town centre and the businesses.

“It’s a real positive development as a cultural hub for the town, allowing new cinema releases to come, as well as the already packed programme we’ve got in the Pontardawe Arts Centre.

“I think people are very excited. As well as the cinema itself we’ve got a new café bar area, and have done some other improvements around the building including to the theatre auditorium.”

Community

Meirion Gittins who is venue manager at the centre added: “It’s really exciting as we’ve been wanting this to happen for a long time.

“To have a dedicated cinema space alongside our main theatre allows us to open for Blockbusters on release, and the cafe bar area will be a good social area for our local community to use.”

The building based at the centre of the town was originally built in 1908 as a public hall and institute.

It was re-opened in 1996 as an arts centre with its new Box Office,  dance studio, meeting rooms, theatre bar, and the grand traditional auditorium.

The latest project to upgrade the building was funded with a grant from The Arts Council of Wales, as well as funding from Welsh Government’s Transforming Towns programme and  Neath Port Talbot Council’s Capital programme.