Something for Everyone
Initiatives ranging from new village halls and children’s play facilities to a mobile cinema and a music studio have made a real difference to people’s lifestyles in the Vale’s rural villages, providing a range of new leisure and learning opportunities for young and old.
Play Away
Funds have been provided to improve play facilities for children in rural areas. Children in St Brides and Corntown are having great fun in their newly refurbished play area, and Llandow and St Athan now have new play areas. |
|
|
Young People
A “Consultative Study on Youth in Rural Areas of the Vale of Glamorgan” was carried out in the rural vale by the VIBE. Young people were interviewed on the issues facing them living in a rural area.
In September 2006 The Major Music Recording Studio in Llantwit Major was opened by Cowbridge band “The Automatic”. Major Music received an Article 33 grant of £77,149 towards the building of the studio, a valuable resource for the young people of the town and surrounding area.
Major Music |
Hubs of Rural Life
Although there is likely to be a reduced emphasis on this type of support in future years, the past three years have seen investment of more than £770,000 towards the development or refurbishment of 11 village and community halls.
| A new Community Hall at Llansannor, on the site of the existing church hall, has provided a new focal point for the community. Mike Brooks, Secretary of the Llansannor Community Hall Association says the new facility has made a great difference to local life. “The hall is finding a wide range of new uses, compared with the old church hall, and is attracting an ever widening community of new users. |
|
Other projects have included the extension and refurbishment of Llantwit Major Community Centre, now renamed the Llantonian Hall, a new hall for combined school and community use at Llanfair, a new community centre at St Athan and extensions to Village Halls in St Brides Major, Wick and Colwinston. In Bonvilston, the historic Reading Rooms have been improved and renovated to ensure their survival and allow broader access and improved community use.
Llansannor Village Web Site
|
Movies on the Move
In 2003 a mobile cinema was purchased and is now run by volunteers from the Vale. It has toured the village halls of the Rural Vale and is now primarily based in Cowbridge for monthly showings of the latest films. The big screen and surround sound really stand up well against the multiplex cinema experience. For more information on the cinema, including film screenings and dates, please e-mail bigscreenvale@googlemail.com. |
Glorious Food
Two food co-ops have been established in St Athan and Llantwit Major, offering fresh fruit, vegetables and salad bags to the local community. Volunteers run the food co-op from a local community centre. It is a non-profit making initiative, promoting seasonal produce and encouraging healthy eating. Angela, one of the volunteers at St Athan Food Co-op said: “The Co-op has been a great success with more than 40 bags being distributed every week. We have great fun mucking in on a Wednesday morning." |
History and Art
 |
VOGA An Art in Residence project, was launched by the Vale Marketing Group in April 2007, will see the work of Vale of Glamorgan artists being exhibited in Rural B&Bs, restaurants, pubs and other businesses.
Art In Residence |
History buffs with an interest in Llantwit Major now have on-line access to the carefully nurtured records of the town’s History Society. The group has received funding towards a website, plus training in how to manage the site. The website came in the wake of the installation of blue heritage plaques and the opening of a Heritage Centre in the town.
Cowbridge Historical Society received a grant to produce a DVD of historical footage from the last century. More than 380 people attended screenings using the mobile cinema at Cowbridge Town Hall. 500 free DVD’s were handed out and local B&Bs were given a copy to show to tourists interested in learning more about the area.
Graig Penllyn Residents Association received funding for the production of a book detailing the social history of Penllyn and Grain Penllyn. Members of the community devoted a great deal of time putting the content of the book together and residents in both villages received a copy of the book.
Craig Penllyn Village Web Site |
|
|
|
