Row over ‘short-sighted’ treatment of staff at mothballed Llancaiach Fawr

Nicholas Thomas – Local democracy reporter

Critics from Plaid Cymru have condemned Caerphilly Council’s “shocking” and “short-sighted” treatment of workers at the mothballed living museum Llancaiach Fawr.

The county borough’s Plaid group said the “overwhelming majority” of staff at the heritage site, in Nelson, are “set for redundancy”.

Plaid obtained figures via a Freedom of Information Act request, which showed 28 full-time or part-time staff had been made redundant, and two had been offered redeployment.

Cllr Lindsay Whittle, who leads the Plaid opposition group in the council chamber, said it was “shocking that so much expertise is being lost as a result of a flawed decision by the Labour cabinet, made against the overwhelming view of the public and many councillors”.

The council’s leader, Cllr Sean Morgan, defended the plan to end Llancaiach Fawr’s reliance on council subsidies, and challenged Plaid to explain how the cash-strapped local authority “can afford no change”.

Mothballed

Caerphilly County Borough Council’s cabinet agreed last year to mothball Llancaiach Fawr as part of cost-cutting measures.

The council was providing a £485,000 annual subsidy to the site.

Plaid said its Freedom of Information Act request also found Llancaiach Fawr staff are “serving their notice period”, and the council expects to spend £52,000 on the site’s maintenance and security over the coming financial year.

The group said Cllr Whittle had learned that 15 members of staff still working at the Tudor manor house would have their employment ended by the end of next month if there was no suitable alternative employment for them.

Cllr Whittle said he felt “so sorry for the committed staff”, and criticising the mothballing process, added: “The council carries out a consultation exercise but when they don’t like the answer, they just press ahead anyway. They are giving democracy a bad name and I fear actions like this may end up driving people to the extremes of politics.”

Senedd Member Delyth Jewell, who represents Plaid for the South Wales East region, said: “This is no way to treat the hard-working staff who’ve brought so much delight and wonder to visitors.

“So many of us visited Llancaiach Fawr as schoolchildren and were taken ‘back in time’ by the actors – and now all those years of their experience are being discarded. What a short-sighted, callous decision.”

‘Flawed’

However, Cllr Morgan said ending reliance on subsidies and moving to an alternative business model could work, and had proved successful elsewhere in the county borough.

“We are constantly told by Plaid Cymru that things must not change, but they never tell us how we can afford no change,” he said. “Cllr Whittle and Ms Jewell were vehemently opposed to the closing of the council-run Coffi Vista last year, which was subsidised by the taxpayer to the tune of £86,000 per annum and is now set to reopen with longer opening hours, a more complete offer, more staff and while bringing in £26,000 of rental income.”

He called that outcome a “net positive of £112,000 for the residents of the borough and, just as importantly, it brings a new vibrancy to the town”.

“So while Plaid representatives call the decision to stop spending half a million pounds a year running Llanciach Fawr Manor ‘flawed’, and when it reopens in the near future with a better offer and having no cost to our residents, what will they say then?

“The question I would like to ask both Plaid Cymru representatives who oppose improved facilities and cost reductions for the people of the borough is: ‘How would you do it?’”

Avison Young has recently begun marketing Llancaiach Fawr to potential suitors.

The council told Plaid “a number of third-party operators have shown an interest” in the site.