A former community centre and wedding venue in Penarth, the Kymin, is now up for lease and could be turned into a restaurant or hotel.
The Vale of Glamorgan council is inviting bids to take over the Kymin on a long lease, after deeming the Victorian house “surplus to requirements”.
The Kymin had been run by Penarth town council until a funding row with the Vale led to the building’s closure in 2019.
Bids to take over the building will be judged on how much money is offered to the Vale council, the range of facilities accessible for the local community, and an outline business plan.
Council leader Neil Moore said: “The Kymin is one of Penarth’s most well known buildings set in a superb location. Making it available for lease represents a fantastic and exciting opportunity to reinvigorate the venue for the benefit of the local and wider community.
“This is a chance to write the next chapter in the Kymin’s colourful history. I am also very pleased that our plans will continue to provide public access to much of the grounds as I know this is a valued local amenity in the area.”
The decision to dispose of the community centre was taken in September last year, amid controversy around the use of language.
Then, Cllr Moore claimed the Kymin was “not being sold off per se”; while deputy leader Cllr Lis Burnett said: “‘Marketing’ seems to imply that we’re going for the biggest amount of money possible. But no, we’re going for the best public use in a sustainable manner.”
Now, the Kymin is listed on the council’s website under ‘properties for sale’, inviting bids to take over the property on a 99-year lease.
The marketing brief explains how each bid will be scored: 30 per cent on the financial offer; 20 per cent on the economic, environmental and social regeneration benefits; and 50 per cent on the outline business plan.
The brief also suggests “potential suitable uses” would include “community, hotel and restaurant type uses”.
Parts of the Kymin gardens, popular locally for walking, will be kept open for public access.
Alex Wilson, Liberal Democrat Senedd candidate for Cardiff South and Penarth, said: “Hopefully the Kymin and the grounds can be saved. The fight’s not over yet, and we need to maintain access to the grounds and some of the building for the community."
He organised a petition to ‘save the Kymin’, signed by 427 people, which he said showed the local strength of feeling about the decision to dispose of the building.
Mr Wilson added: “The people of Penarth feel very strongly and want to keep it. They feel they’re not being heard. If it’s a hotel, will it still have access for the community? We don’t know. We want to save it for the use of the community.
“The community felt ignored by what was going on. We felt the interest of the community was being pushed to one side. We wanted to highlight that concern with the petition.”
Gary Allman, a Conservative Penarth town councillor, said: “Morally, the Kymin belongs to the people of Penarth. It was taken from the people of Penarth and handed to the Vale in the 1990s. They should lease it to Penarth town council.”
He said he would like to see the Labour-run Vale council negotiate with the Labour-run town council to solve the funding row, potentially letting the town council sublet the building and keep the money in Penarth.
He added: “It’s welcome to see some movement. It’s morally wrong what they’re doing, but you can’t leave this house like this, in a poor state of disrepair. Something has got to be done with the building.”
