What does the future hold for Llancaiach Fawr?

Nicholas Thomas, local democracy reporter

The decision to close Llancaiach Fawr has been branded a “retrograde step” amid ongoing uncertainty over the heritage site’s future.

The Grade-I listed manor, near Nelson, has been “mothballed” and on the market since January, following a Caerphilly County Borough Council cost-cutting decision to end its annual subsidy for the site.

The council’s Plaid Cymru opposition group claimed there is “no sign” of the venue re-opening “anytime soon”.

Flawed

Plaid said a council response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request showed that while 15 viewings had been arranged, no offers have been submitted to date.

“The closure was yet another flawed decision by the Labour cabinet, made against the opposition of the public and many councillors,” said Cllr Lindsay Whittle, who leads the Plaid group.

“We want to see Llancaiach Fawr reopened to the public as soon as possible, but given the lack of submissions of interest so far then we might be waiting quite a long time. It really is scandalous that this tourist and historical icon of Caerphilly remains shut.”

Plaid Senedd Member Delyth Jewell called the venue “irreplaceable” and “the centre of the community”, including for thousands of schoolchildren who visited on trips.

“Many of us warned that if the council closed its doors, they might never reopen again,” she said. “What a crying shame it will be if that turns out to be the case.”

‘High level of interest’

However, those views have been challenged by the council’s deputy leader, Labour’s Jamie Pritchard. He said there had been “a high level of interest from a range of organisations who have submitted business cases to secure a bright new future for Llancaiach Fawr”.

Cllr Pritchard said the council “received so much interest, we ran more open days than originally envisaged”.

“I must say, for leading Plaid politicians to say there has been a lack of submissions tells me they have simply ignored a statement I put out more than two weeks ago,” he said. “This is a very peculiar and totally unproductive way to operate. We are very positive about the future of Llancaiach Fawr, and we look forward to issuing further updates over the coming weeks.”

In its response to Plaid’s Freedom of Information Act request, the council said it is “now awaiting submissions from those that expressed an interest” in running Llancaiach Fawr – but added a timeline “cannot be confirmed at this stage”.

It also said 37 staff members had their jobs “terminated” at the site, one worker had been kept on until the end of June “to maintain the open space”, and two had found permanent redeployment within the council.