Major funding achieved for Bleddfa Centre through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund - Rebuilding Community Foundations in Powys.

Major funding achieved for Bleddfa Centre through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund - Rebuilding Community Foundations in Powys.

The Sidney Nolan Trust is delighted to announce that the project ‘Restoring Community Use and Sustainability’ at the Bleddfa Centre in Bleddfa, Powys, has received £56,308 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for urgent repairs and maintenance and energy efficiency improvements. The grant has been awarded to this charity-run grassroots community and arts venue from the ‘Rebuilding Community Foundations in Powys’ funding strand, managed by the Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations, PAVO.

These funds will enable a much-needed roof repair on the Old School House building with additional insulation, improvements to site drainage, the introduction of solar panels on the Schoolhouse and the Hall Barn, upgrades to the fire alarm and emergency lighting in both buildings, and the introduction of thermostatic and space heating controls for the School House heating system so it can be operated much more efficiently. Work will start in September and complete by 30 November and is being undertaken by regional contractors.

These buildings provide essential community meeting and activity spaces for the very rural community of Bleddfa and the wider catchment of the surrounding region of Llangunllo between Knighton and Llandrindod Wells. The Bleddfa Centre was founded in 1974 by James Roose-Evans, theatre director, writer and priest, working closely with the local community to establish a centre for the arts, ideas and social connection. It became a vibrant hub with arts programmes, café, talks and retreats but COVID presented a major challenge to the Centre’s sustainability.

In 2023 the Bleddfa Trust merged with the Sidney Nolan Trust as a local charity also dedicated to enabling creativity and the arts in the rural setting of the Wales Herefordshire borders. Sidney Nolan Trust has been working with the local community and stakeholders to understand the priorities for community use and arts spaces and restart activities and programmes at the Bleddfa Centre.

Director of the Sidney Nolan Trust Sophie Heath said:

‘We’re thrilled to have raised this substantial support for these vital community spaces that enable social connection and arts provision in our rural area. These repairs and investment in renewable and energy efficiency measures will make the Bleddfa Centre a more usable, safe and sustainable venue supporting it as a community hub into the future’

Local resident Hilary Domnick sharing feedback from people in the Bleddfa neighbourhood said:

‘Everyone is very pleased to hear about the funding. The Bleddfa Centre is such an integral part of the community, it is wonderful to know the buildings will be restored and improved with this new injection of money.’

Clair Swales, PAVO CEO said

’I would like to congratulate everyone involved in bringing this project forward. It will not only deliver much needed repairs to the building, but will go some way in ensuring this important community space remains viable into the future, enabling a range of vital activities to take place in the heart of rural Powys.’

Project updates will be shared on Sidney Nolan Trust website and social channels. Activities and events will continue at the Bleddfa Centre around the funded works programme as contractor access and safety permits.

ENDS

Contact: For all press enquiries contact Sophie Heath 01544 260 149/ 07940 538 154 sophie@sidneynolantrust.org

Notes to Editors:

1. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK by investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus.
2. The Sidney Nolan Trust was founded in 1985 by the famous Australian artist Sir Sidney Nolan (1917 – 1992). He was part of a close circle of artists, writers and thinkers who were pivotal in the advance of Modernism in Australia and he is best known for his iconic paintings of the bushranger-outlaw Ned Kelly. Nolan moved permanently to the UK in 1953 and became an important and successful figure in the British art world from the mid-1950s onwards. For the last 10 years of his life, he came to live and work at The Rodd in rural Herefordshire, close to the England/Wales border.

Today, The Rodd is a vibrant centre for the arts where the Trust, an independent charity, cares for the biggest collection of his art anywhere in the world, along with the artist’s archive, large and important book collection and former studio. Further, the Trust looks after Nolan's former home Rodd Court, a Grade II* listed Jacobean Manor House and around 200 acres of farmland and woodland. Nolan’s legacy acts as the foundation for an annual programme of contemporary exhibitions, events and residencies and creative learning programmes.

In 2023 the Bleddfa Trust merged with the Sidney Nolan Trust on the basis of their shared values of creativity, ideas and arts access. So the Trust now looks after and manages two buildings in the village of Bleddfa in Powys, working with the community to build and define a sustainable future for the Centre where the benefits of social connection and arts provision can be accessed in this rural area.

For more information visit www.sidneynolantrust.org

3. Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations

Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations (PAVO) provides essential services to support third sector organisations and to improve people's lives. PAVO is part of the Third Sector Support Wales, a network of support organisations for the whole of the third sector in Wales. It consists of the 19 local and regional County Voluntary Councils (PAVO is a County Voluntary Council) and the national support body, Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA).

As Third Sector Support Wales, we work with people, volunteers and third sector groups to identify and address what matters to them. To achieve our shared goals, we collaborate with other key partners across the third sector, the public sector, business, research and funders

In 1974 Powys Rural Council was created from the three independent Rural Community Councils of Montgomeryshire, Radnorshire and Brecknockshire. Powys Rural Council became PAVO in 1994, changing its name to Powys Association of Voluntary Organisations.