🌟 Thank You for Your Support! ðŸŒŸ

We are truly overwhelmed by the positive messages from our community regarding the recent update on the Resolven Miners Welfare Restoration Plans.

Your encouragement and passion of this cherished space remind us why this project matters so much. Together, we’re not just restoring a building – we’re rekindling a legacy that has been at the heart of our community for generations.

Thank you for believing in this vision and for your continued support. Whether it’s through your kind words, shared stories, or enthusiastic involvement, you inspire us to keep pushing forward.

Let’s continue working hand in hand to bring this dream to life. Stay tuned for more updates, and as always, feel free to share your thoughts – this journey belongs to all of us!

💛 #ResolvenMinersWelfare #CommunitySpirit #TogetherWeCan

Here are some questions and answers to the questions we received from the community.

Question 1

Could you confirm the timeline for completing funding applications and engaging with funders, including a specific date if these are considered SMART objectives? 

Answer

At this stage it’s extremely difficult to use SMART objectives while engaging with funders. Each fund has its own criteria, own deadlines, own procedures etc. In an ideal world, we’d send off all our applications to various funders and, at the same, time they would all agree to give us some money and we’d pool that together to get the work done but, unfortunately, it’s not as simple as that.

We have spoken to all the funders we listed, and more, we are in the process of prioritising applications. For example, we are currently prioritising an application to Pen y Cymoedd wind farm as they have a deadline coming up soon and we think we are in a strong position to access their funding. We recently applied to the Welsh Government’s Community Facilities Programme and are working with them to ensure they have all the information they need to make a decision. Funders usually come back with more questions before they make any decisions. Once we have more information on what these two funders are willing to offer us, we can be more specific when approaching the next set of funders…. It’s all like a rather messy jigsaw puzzle and there’s no other way around it.

Other obstacles get in the way too. For example, another fund we were hoping to access (The Community Ownership Fund) has been paused due to the change of government and another (Moondance) has been paused until April, simply because they have too many applications: the goal posts are ever moving in this world of funding. Even if successful, funders may not offer you the amount you applied for. Lining everything up is not easy.

This turbulent way of working means that, at this stage, we cannot give any dates of which applications, to who, will be completed, by when. I can reassure you that we are working closely with experts in the field of funding like NPTCVS, CISWO and Coalfields Regeneration Trust and they are guiding and advising us every step of the way. We will of course release any details of funds we acquire as and when. I must stress that the acquisition of funds will take time so please be patient with us, I assure you we’re doing our absolute best!

Question 2

Why is it necessary to chase the solicitors—are they a competent and committed firm, or should you consider diverting the business to someone more proactive if they’re not delivering the desired results? 

Answer

We have every reason to believe at present that our solicitors are doing the work that’s needed within the time frames available to them. This is our first time using this particular firm, but we have had bad experiences with other professionals (solicitors and other trades) and feel there is no harm in contacting them from time to time to make sure they have all they need and they’re on track. We just acknowledging that sometimes it pays to be a proactive customer.

Question 3

Could you provide an update on the website, including its current status, plans for sharing your updates, and how you’ll ensure everyone is informed about its existence and schedule?

Answer

The update we released on Facebook was written directly on our website. When you clicked the link on Facebook it took you to the article on our website, so even though you opened the article on Facebook you actually read it on our website. Updates of this nature are usually created on our website and then links are shared on Facebook. Here’s the link to our website: https://resolvenwelfare.co.uk/

On Facebook, our website is clearly visible in our ‘About’ section. If you Google Resolven Miners’ Welfare our site is the first that pops up. I agree with you that going forward we need to do more to publicise our website. We also need to prioritise getting more information on it showing the work that’s going on behind the scenes, but this all takes time.

For the last year or so our priorities have been dealing with the complex, painstaking legal problems and barriers we’ve had to overcome. The update we issued was an extremely simplified version of the battles we’ve faced, and the work done. The core team of trustees dedicate an incredible number of hours to the charity, but we’ve simply not had the capacity to spend more time on our website, social media channels and letting the community know what’s going on. We apologise for this.

However, now there is light at the end of the tunnel with some of the issues we’ve been facing, we are hoping to recruit some volunteers to help manage our outward communication as we understand it’s vital to share our journey and keep everyone up to date.

Question 4

As you prepare for a new community consultation, could you clarify what the Feasibility Study revealed, whether we are working towards those results or exploring new directions, and if any additional suggestions will be both achievable and aligned with the Feasibility Study findings?

Answer

The Feasibility Summary Document is available on our website and was linked to the update article you read, here it is: https://resolvenwelfare.co.uk/document/feasibility-study/

This document is an easy read and a fairly brief summary of what the feasibility study entailed and its findings. Basically, it states that the building structure is relatively sound, although the building needs a full renovation to be brought up to modern standards. A business model has been developed based on income from various streams including a café/bar/restaurant, cinema/auditorium, room rental etc.

Our next consultation will not be looking at ‘what the building could be’, we’ve already done that in previous consultations and what we are proposing to offer at the building (what the feasibility study considers) reflects the results of that survey. Our next survey is more to help us demonstrate the need of such a facility to funders: hopefully the results will support our funding applications.