A POPULAR community hub based at a former Abergavenny primary school could be allowed to continue its work for years to come.
Abergavenny Community Trust (ACT), a registered charity, took over the former Park Street School in 2015 to start Abergavenny Community Centre.
The centre’s work mainly focuses on providing food-related activities that tackle social isolation and exclusion within the community.
The move came after a lengthy campaign to save the building, which had been empty since 2006 and was nearly sold by Monmouthshire County Council for £300,000.
But a three-year lease was signed between ACT and the council, with the trust tasked with finding long term funding to support the centre.
The agreement contained a clause that if ACT were to raise £230,000 within three years, a 25-year lease would be activated.
Despite only managing to raise £133,000, the group has asked the council to grant the extended lease anyway to give them more time to secure further funding.
In the last three years, up to £20,000 has been donated for ACT to run a community kitchen out of the community centre.
Other activities include a café on Mondays run in partnership with the local foodbank and “conversation cafes” to help Syrian refugees with their English language skills.
The centre also has a growing space for the Incredible Edibles community farming scheme and hosts bistro evenings.
More than 31 local clubs use the venue, which has created five part-time paid jobs and boasts 30 volunteers.
Monmouthshire County Council’s cabinet will meet on June 6 to decide on the lease, with officers recommending approval.
Members will also consider offering a three-year lease for use of the former school’s car park to help ACT’s funding quest.
A report estimates that the building and car park leases will net the council nearly £10,500 in rental income a year.
But granting both leases could see the council miss out on £400,000 through the potential sale of both assets.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here